Georgios Tziouvaras, “The effect of fatigue on driver behavior in rural environment using driver simulator”, Diploma Thesis, NTUA, School of Civil Engineering, Athens, July 2024.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to investigate the impact of fatigue on driving behavior in a rural environment, under high and low traffic load conditions. To achieve this objective, an experimental procedure was conducted in a driving simulator through which driving data of 35 participants were collected. In addition, to collect the necessary data, the personal characteristics of the participants were determined through a questionnaire survey. The driving task was performed by the participants for each scenario two (2) times, one being rested and one being tired with little or no sleep. The results were analyzed through statistical analysis, more specifically by developing linear and binomial logistic regression models. These models related to the average of speed developed by the drivers, their reaction time, the distance they maintained from the front vehicle and crash probability. The results indicated that fatigue driving increases the average speed and reaction time of drivers, reduces their distance from the vehicle ahead and increases crash probability. Finally, under conditions of high traffic load, lower average driver speeds, reduced reaction times, reduced distances from preceding vehicles and increased crash probability were observed.