Characterisation of motorway driving style using naturalistic driving data

Abstract

The study of measurable differences between drivers has ramifications for several sub-fields in traffic and transportation research. Better understanding of the variability in individual driving styles would be especially useful for understanding driver preferences, psychological mechanisms for vehicle control and for developing more realistic traffic simulations. In our study based on a large naturalistic data set, we investigated the driving style of 76 individuals driving in a motorway setting. We discovered that the majority of between-driver variation in keeping longitudinal and lateral safety margins, lane changing frequency, acceleration and speed preference, can be reduced to two dimensions, which we interpret as habitualised motives centred around mental effort and expediency.