Greening and Safety: The Influence of Road Greenness on Driver’s Attention and Emergency Reaction Time

Road traffic accidents are among the top 10 causes of death globally. With regard to potential accidents, if driver reaction time (RT) can be reduced, drivers would have more time to assess the situation and take appropriate action to avoid the accident. As natural elements in the environment can restore human attention, we conducted a random controlled trial to test the effects of road greenness on driver attention and RT. A driving simulator was employed to simulate highways with five road greening doses. During the simulation, an emergency incident was designed and video-displayed, and driver RT in the context of that situation was recorded. A total of 144 participants were recruited. The results revealed that with increased dose of road greening, driver attention level increased. In addition, a higher dose of greening resulted in a shorter RT during an emergency incident.