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The front seat passenger is often neglected when developing support systems for cars. There exist few examples of systems that provide information or interaction possibilities specifically to those passengers. Previous research indicated that the passive role of the passenger can frequently lead to a feeling of discomfort, potentially caused by missing information and missing control with respect to the driving situation. This paper proposes a variety of prototypical passenger assistance systems that target different aspects of the cognitive processes which could cause the feeling of discomfort. In a simulator study with N = 40 participants, these systems were investigated with respect to their influence on measures of discomfort. Participants experienced different car following and braking scenarios on the highway with different time headways, with and without one of the passenger assistance systems. Based on the subjective measures, three systems were identified as particularly useful in reducing discomfort. For the best of these proposals, more than 63 % of the passengers confirmed the usefulness of the approach and reported an interest in using it in their vehicle. This demonstrates significant opportunities to improve the everyday driving experience beyond classical assistant systems by explicitly taking into account the needs of the passengers.

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This work investigates which conditions lead to co-driver discomfort aside from classical motion sickness, what characterizes uncomfortable situations and why these conditions lead to discomfort.The automobile is called a “passenger vehicle” as its main purpose is the transportation of people. However, passengers in the car are rarely considered in research about driving discomfort. The few studies in this area focus on driver discomfort, automated vehicles, and on driver assistant systems. An earlier public survey indicated that discomfort is also a relevant problem for co-drivers.An online questionnaire with N = 119 participants and a detailed follow up interview study with N = 24 participants were conducted.The results of the online questionnaire show that co-driver discomfort is a widespread problem (88 %). The results of the interviews indicate that the driving style is the only reason rated as very influential. Frequently mentioned reasons for discomfort are close following or fast driving. Uncomfortable situations were often perceived as safety critical. Participants also felt exposed to these situations. A model for possible cognitive origins of discomfort in co-drivers is proposed based on the study results.Co-driver discomfort is a common problem, highlighting the relevance of further research on supporting co-drivers. The reported correlations and the extension of theories from the areas of stress and self-regulation can help to explain the origin of this discomfort. The results provide a foundation for future design of interventions like human machine interfaces aiming at reducing co-driver discomfort.

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