Evaluation and Analysis of Driver Acceptance of a Visual-Guidance-Based Merging Assistance System

This study proposes a novel visual guidance-based merging assistance system (Visual Guidance System: VGS) inspired by speed recovery guidance lights, and aims to comprehensively evaluate its effectiveness and driver acceptability. A multi-vehicle cooperative driving simulator (DS) experiment involving ten participants was conducted to reproduce driver interactions during highway merging and to examine the effects of VGS. Subjective evaluations and quantitative analyses indicated a trend toward improved driving safety and comfort under the VGS condition, and overall driver acceptance was favorable, although no statistically significant differences were observed in most measures. Furthermore, a Bayesian Network (BN) analysis was applied to quantitatively identify the causal factors underlying the effects of VGS. The results showed that the introduction of VGS shifted the drivers’ focus of attention during merging from forward- to rearward-oriented factors, reducing the number of variables influencing their decisions. AIC score improvements further revealed that, under the VGS condition, the primary determinant of merging ease was the distance to the following mainline vehicle, suggesting that cognitive load associated with interactions with leading vehicles was reduced. These findings suggest that VGS can simplify and stabilize merging decisions by reducing visual and cognitive demands on drivers.