Abstract: In order to prevent the traffic accidents caused by vehicle lane change in freeway maintenance area, firstly, the driving simulation tests with different traffic flow densities were carried out.The distance between vehicle lane change position and end of transition zone, lane change distance and driver's heart rate were collected. Then,based on the test data,vehicle lane-changing position and lane-changing distance were defined by vehicle trajectory and steering wheel angle. Effects of both the vehicle flow density and the driver's heart rate on lane-changing position and lane-changing distance were analyzed. Finally, a lane change prediction model based on vehicle flow density and driver heart rate was built by using forced entry variable regression. The results show that the location of vehicle lane change increases firstly and then decreases with the increase of vehicle flow density, and increases with the increase of driver's heart rate, that the distance of vehicle lane change increases firstly and then decreases with the increase of vehicle flow density, and decreases with the increase of drivers' heart rate, and that the model can predict the relationship between driver heart rate and lane change in freeway maintenance area.

Key words: driver's heart rate, driving load, work zone, vehicle lane changing, driving simulation