Investigation of decision-making behavior in cooperative traffic situations using the example of a narrow passage

In order to successfully deal with a mixed traffic situation between automatic guided cars and human driven cars, it is essential that road users are able to understand the driving behavior of the partner in cooperative settings, such as a coequal narrowing of the road. One of the questions, introduced by Farber(1), is, whether humans are able to cope with automatic guided cars in complex cooperative settings. In daily road traffic human road users are able to approach to a narrowing of the road by referring to implicit and explicit communication means in order to make their own intention. Within a quasi-experimental study (N = 22) different approaching behavior patterns to an equal priority narrowing of the road were examined in order to analyze both car drivers' decision behavior and their communication behavior. On that basis conclusions may be drawn, how automatic guided cars shall interact in such situations and which behavior patterns may be appropriate in order to solve complex cooperative situations for both types of road users adequately.