Evaluation of a Novel Emergency Braking Task on a Driving Simulator with Haptic Anti-Lock Braking System Feedback

Abstract

Rear-end crashes are one of the leading types of crashes today. The anti-lock braking system (ABS) was designed to assist drivers during emergency braking situations by preventing wheel lock up, allowing drivers to retain control of the vehicle. Not all drivers have knowledge and experience with ABS, especially the haptic brake pedal feedback produced by ABS. There studies introduce a new method to train ABS using an emergency braking task on a simulator and an interactive exercise, Pedals Emergency Stop©. The interactive exercise was designed to prompt participants to press the brake pedal in a motion that is consistent with emergency braking and experience haptic ABS feedback. Participants that depressed the brake pedal quickly to the maximum travel and held that pedal position “passed” the trial. In Study 1, participants (N = 63) completed 15 trials, where it took on average three trials to “pass” for the first time, and 85% of the participants experienced their first “pass” within the first four trials. There were no differences observed between participants with previous knowledge and experience feeling ABS versus those who did not have prior knowledge and experience with ABS. The participants in this study thought that they had enough trials, that the exercise was a practical tool, and recommended the task for new drivers and refresher training, as well as for evaluating fitness to drive. Suggested improvements included a practice followed by three tests, all with four trials each; passing criteria of three out of four trials; and modifications to the feedback presented immediately after completing each trail. Study 2 was conducted (N = 38) to investigate the proposed “passing” criteria, where 95% passed on Test 1. The results revealed that the criteria to pass was reasonable. Future research should examine how the Pedals Emergency Stop© interactive exercise generalizes to on-road driving.

Development of an Emergency Braking Training Research Program Using a Driving Simulator with Haptic Pedal Feedback

“…This was also true for participants with and without prior experience feeling ABS activate, where no differences were found in performance braking rating on the track. Though braking performance on the track was not influenced by the simulator practice, 74% of the participants that completed the simulator practice thought they benefitted and/or their performance on the track was improved as a result of the emergency braking practice on the simulator with Pedals Emergency Stop© (Mims, 2022).…”

“…The Pedals Emergency Stop© interactive exercise was divided into a practice with four trials and three tests with four trials each (see Figure 5). The criteria to pass the emergency braking practice was passing three out of four trials within one of the tests (Mims et al, 2022).…”

“…Criteria Evaluation. The next study aimed to understand if the emergency braking practice on the simulator generalized to driving in a vehicle on a closed road course as well as to evaluate the proposed criteria to pass the simulator practice (Mims, 2022). Participants (N=69) were grouped according to their previous experience feeling ABS activated as well as if they completed the simulator practice.…”

“…Initial Evaluation. The initial evaluation was to understand how many attempts participants needed to begin to "pass" and develop criteria to pass the exercise (Mims et al, 2022). During the initial evaluation of the emergency braking practice, participants (N=63) had 15 trials and were grouped based upon their knowledge and experience of feeling ABS activate.…”

Exploring the Benefits of a Simulator-Based Emergency Braking Exercise with Novice Teen Drivers

“…The technological advancements of driving simulators encompass visual graphics, vehicle dynamics, and feedback systems that simulate real-world driving. This augments the learning experience, helping novice drivers in their transition to on-road driving [36,37]. The secure, controlled environment of a simulator allows novice drivers to obtain driving experience without the risks of on-road training.…”