A novel connected driving simulator experiment to understand cooperative lane-changing decision-making

Six scenarios were designed using TRACSLab@USyd connected driving simulators, whereby drivers performed lane-changing with and without incentives for maintaining safety, efficiency, and cooperation in a connected environment. The information supply in a connected environment was designed and disseminated via a tablet mounted on the driving simulator. In each driving session, four participants drove four driving simulators to make a traffic stream, interacting with each other in the connected environment; in total, 25 sessions were run, and 99 participants completed all phases of the study. The design of the experiment is thoroughly explained in this study, with some preliminary analysis being included. The dataset generated in this study is openly accessible, allowing researchers to conduct in-depth analyses of drivers’ lane-changing decisions and cooperative behaviours in response to various incentive schemes, ultimately supporting the development of effective connected driving environments.