Explain the difference between short-term and long-term driver expectancy, and provide an example of each.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Expectancy is the ability of drivers to rely on past experience to assist with control, guidance, or navigation tasks. When driver expectancy is taking into consideration in the design of roadways, the negative effect of the driver’s limitations in processing information is reduced because drivers only need to process new information.
Examples of long-term expectancies are:
- Freeway exists are located on the right-hand side of the road
- At an intersection of a major and minor road controlled by a stop sign, the stop sign is on the approaches of the road that appears to be the minor road
- At an intersection approach, a driver wishing to turn left will be in the left lane or on a through lane that allows left-turns
Examples of short-term expectancies:
- A long section of roadway with gently winding characteristics is contiguous with a roadway section that has gentle curves
- A long section of roadway that allows for high speed driving is contiguous with a roadway sections that also allows for high speeddriving
- Driving at a consistent speed along a well-coordinated system of traffic signals on an arterial should not suddenly lead to an isolated intersection with a significantly different cycle length