Abstract
In 1995, Theeuwes and Godthelp published a paper called “self-explaining roads,” in which they argued for the development of a new concept for approaching safe road design. Since this publication, self-explaining roads (SER) became one of the leading principles in road design worldwide. The underlying notion is that roads should be designed in such a way that road users immediately know how to behave and what to expect on these roads. In other words, the environment should be designed such that it elicits adequate and safe behavior. The present paper describes in detail the theoretical basis for the idea of SER and explains why this has such a large effect on human behavior. It is argued that the notion is firmly rooted in the theoretical framework of statistical learning, subjective road categorization and the associated expectations. The paper illustrates some successful implementation and describes recent developments worldwide.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 15 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-15 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications |
| Volume | 6 |
| Early online date | 4 Mar 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:In 2010, Charman et al. () published an extensive literature review regarding self-explaining roads and the various approaches to the concept. This review was part of a larger SPACE project funded by the 6 framework of European Commission as part of the European Research Area Network ROAD. Charman et al. () concluded that “the self-explaining road message fell on fertile ground, and within a decade the terms self-explaining roads concept, self-explaining road principles, and even self-explaining road philosophy were in wide-spread use, not just in Europe but across the globe, and often in situations far-removed from those envisaged by the original authors” (Charman et al. , p. 10). th
Funding Information:
JT was supported by a European Research Council (ERC) advanced grant 833029 – [LEARNATTEND].
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Funding
In 2010, Charman et al. () published an extensive literature review regarding self-explaining roads and the various approaches to the concept. This review was part of a larger SPACE project funded by the 6 framework of European Commission as part of the European Research Area Network ROAD. Charman et al. () concluded that “the self-explaining road message fell on fertile ground, and within a decade the terms self-explaining roads concept, self-explaining road principles, and even self-explaining road philosophy were in wide-spread use, not just in Europe but across the globe, and often in situations far-removed from those envisaged by the original authors” (Charman et al. , p. 10). th JT was supported by a European Research Council (ERC) advanced grant 833029 – [LEARNATTEND].
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Horizon 2020 Framework Programme | 833029 |
| European Research Council |