Abstract
This article points out how a driver might misperceive the curvature of a road curve if the curve is combined with a slope change that the driver does not recognize. We investigated the relationship between the apparent curvature of a road and the change of the slope, and clarified the difference between the perceived curvature and the actual curvature when the driver mistakenly believes that the slope is constant. Curves are typical road structures on which traffic accidents occur frequently, and the main cause of these accidents is regarded as excessive speed due to driver carelessness. The results of this study suggest one possible reason why drivers travel too fast on curves. Other aspects of the optical illusion that cause misperception of the curvature are also touched upon.
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Acknowledgements
The author expresses his sincere thanks to the anonymous reviewers for their instructive comments, by which he could improve the manuscript. This work is partly supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant number 18K19827.
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Sugihara, K. Misperception of road curvature due to slope change. Japan J. Indust. Appl. Math. 38, 379–389 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13160-020-00441-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13160-020-00441-z