IS IT SAFE TO DRIVE A VEHICLE WITH A STEERING EQUIPMENT POSITIONED ON THE SAME SIDE AS THE DIRECTION OF THE TRAFFIC – DRIVING SIMULATION EXPERIMENTS
IS IT SAFE TO DRIVE A VEHICLE WITH A STEERING EQUIPMENT POSITIONED ON THE SAME SIDE AS THE DIRECTION OF THE TRAFFIC – DRIVING SIMULATION EXPERIMENTS

Summary/Abstract: Polish road traffic law was amended to reflect the EU legislation concerning the LHT vehicle registration in the RHT member states without repositioning the steering equipment, following complaints by Polish citizens to the EC and the subsequent ECJ judgment. This research was conducted to analyze the implications on the road safety when driving LHT and RHT vehicles in RHT. For the purposes of the study, the main research question was defined: Does driving an LHT vehicle adapted to RHT reduce the level of safety of the driver and other road users. Method: The experiment used a vehicle driving simulator. Research sample was selected by means of a survey on socio-demographic factors. During experiment participants were driving at first run RHT vehicles in RHT traffic and in second run a vehicle adapted to left-hand traffic in right-hand traffic. They had to drive a specific route on the simulator during both runs, with a defined traffic load. During individual journeys, the key information to assess the level of safety was collected by researchers. Results: The results of the conducted research clearly show that the risk of road accidents when using LHT vehicles in RHT road traffic is significantly higher. The results show a significant increase in the number of accidents and collisions when participants used an LHT vehicle in an RHT. The number of traffic incidents (accidents and collisions) was approx. 50% higher when driving RHD vehicles. At the same time, the validity of the use of simulation methods in the assessment of potential organizational changes in road traffic was proved. Practical Applications: Attention should be paid to the social costs of driving LHT vehicles in RHT and the growing number of road accidents. This type of research makes it possible to assess the risks of planned changes and can be used in the development of regulations related to the use of RHD vehicles in RHT traffic. The studies did not include traffic statistics for the years 2020 and 2021, as the European Commission estimated that lower traffic volumes related to the COVID-19 pandemic could have contributed to fewer road accidents and fatalities.

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