Horizontal curves of rural highways are prone to a considerably high number of fatalities because an erroneous perception can lead to unsafe driving. This generally occurs when a driver fails to notice the highway geometry or changes in the driving environment, particularly curved segments. This study aimed to understand the geometric characteristics of curved segments, such as radius and approach tangents, on the driving performance towards minimizing vehicle crashes. Speed profiles and lateral position, the most common indicators of successful negotiation in curves, and eye movements were recorded during an experiment conducted in a fixed-base driving simulator equipped with an eye-tracking system with a road infrastructure (a three-lane highway) and its surroundings. A driving simulator can faithfully reproduce any situation and enable sustainable research because it is a high-tech and cost-effective tool allowing repeatability in a laboratory. The experiment was conducted with 28 drivers who covered approximately 500 test kilometers with 90 horizontal curves comprising nine different combinations of radii and approach tangent lengths. The drivers’ behavior on each curve was classified as ideal, normal, intermediate, cutting, or correcting according to their trajectories and speed changes for analyses of the performance parameters and their correlation conducted by factorial ANOVA and Pearson chi-square tests. The cross-tabulation results indicated that the safest behavior significantly increased when the curve radius increased, and the performance measures of curve radii were greatly affected. However, the driving behavior was not affected by the approach tangent length. The results revealed segments of the road that require a driver’s closer attention for essential vehicle control, critical information, and vehicle control in different parts of the task.

Primeiramente, agradeço a Deus pela vida a mim concedida, além da sabedoria e perseverança para condução deste trabalho.Sou grata aos meus pais Renato e Marivane e ao meu irmão Estevão por todo apoio e incentivo que serviram de alicerce para as minhas realizações.À minha orientadora Ana Paula Larocca, pela sua dedicação e paciência durante este projeto. Seus conhecimentos fizeram grande diferença para realização do mesmo.A todos os amigos que fiz durante a pós-graduação e que compartilharam dos inúmeros desafios enfrentados, especialmente à Olga, Mylena, Murilo e Alanne.Por fim, o presente trabalho foi realizado com apoio da Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior -Brasil (CAPES) -Código de Financiamento 001