Analysis of the following behavior and line changes of anxious and depressed drivers

Human factors constitute one of the primary contributors to traffic violations and crashes. This research examined the impact of anxiety and depression factors on drivers using a driving simulator. The participants consisted of 31 normal drivers, 15 depressed drivers, and 16 anxious drivers. Participants were aged between 19 and 30 years. Their following behavior and lane changes were captured through metrics such as the number of lane changes, duration of lane changes, average speed, and longitudinal distance adjustment, and compared to regular drivers. It was observed that lane changes in the anxious and depressed groups were more frequent than the normal group. There was no significant difference in average speed among the three groups. The normal group tended to maintain more longitudinal distance at higher speeds. In the depressed and anxious groups, the relationship between speed and duration of lane changes was a constant and uniform, while in the normal group, the vehicle’s lane change duration was dependent on speed. the normal and depressed groups exhibit a greater tendency to travel in the faster lane (leftmost lane), whereas those in the anxious group are more inclined to use the middle lane.