To investigate the variation law of driving comfort on expressway tunnel group sections, real vehicle tests were carried out to collect the tunnel section length, regional luminance, and drivers' real-time heart rate.The relationships among tunnel spacing, environmental luminance difference, and heart rate growth rate were analyzed. Based on the mechanism by which tunnel spacing affects the downstream heart rate response, the concept of the tunnel group psychological effect was proposed. Driving comfort was characterized by heart rate growth rate, and a comfort model was developed under the coupling of luminance difference and tunnel spacing. The mechanism underlying the tunnel group psychological effect was also explored. The results show that as tunnel spacing increases, the heart rate growth rate first rises and then falls. A longer tunnel spacing intensifies the driving load in downstream tunnels and reduces comfort. The heart rate growth rate increases with the environmental luminance difference. The coupling of tunnel spacing and luminance difference significantly affects driving comfort. A greater luminance difference corresponds to a wider tunnel spacing range in which the psychological effect is likely to occur.
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