Enhancing Work Zone Safety Technology (WST): a performance-based evaluation framework considering human behaviours

Road work zones are dangerous because they disrupt traffic and expose workers to live traffic. Despite safety efforts, fatalities involving road workers have not decreased in recent years. This thesis evaluates how Work Zone Safety Technologies (WSTs) can reduce these risks. Using virtual and mixed reality experiments, it examines how drivers and workers respond to different warning systems, including those producing imperfect alarms. The results reveal how WSTs influence human behaviours under different levels of urgency. Based on these behavioural analyses, a practical evaluation framework is proposed to support evidence-based decisions on selecting and designing effective WSTs.