Human Factors Field Evaluation of Automotive Headway Maintenance/Collision Warning Devices

Abstract

Three on-road studies were conducted to determine how headway maintenance and collision warning displays influence driver behavior. Visual perspective, visual perspective with a pointer, visual perspective combined with an auditory warning, discrete visual warning, and discrete auditory warning were assessed during both coupled headway and deceleration events. Results indicate that when drivers are provided with salient visual information regarding safe headways, they utilize the information and increase their headway when appropriate. Auditory warnings were less effective than visual warnings for increasing headways but may be helpful for improving reaction time during events that require deceleration. Drivers were somewhat insensitive to false alarm rates, at least during short-term use. Finally, and most important, driver headway maintenance increased by as much as 0.5 s when the appropriate visual display was used. However, a study to investigate the longterm effects of such displays on behavior is strongly recommended prior to mass marketing of headway maintenance/collision warning devices.

Determinants of following headway in congested traffic

“…For example, the role of human (mis-) perception and differences between individuals (Brackstone, 2000, Taieb-Maimon andShinar, 2001) is only now being recognized as a vital contributing factor to the understanding of the design and operation of many in-vehicle systems (Dingus et al, 1997, Marsden et al, 2001, as well as being a causative mechanism in traffic processes such as flow breakdown (Treiber, et al, 2005). The research described in this paper is a detailed evaluation of one particular aspect of behavior, namely the choice of following headway behind the vehicle in-front, examining how this choice, part of the 'car-following process ' (Brackstone and McDonald, 2000), varies with local conditions and assessing if there is any evidence of this choice being affected by the behavior of motorists one or more vehicles ahead.…”

Collision Warning Timing, Driver Distraction, and Driver Response to Imminent Rear-End Collisions in a High-Fidelity Driving Simulator

“…The possibility of increasing driving safety using RECAS has generated a substantial body of research (An & Harris, 1996;Dingus, McGehee, & Hankey, 1997;Hirst & Graham, 1997;Knipling et al, 1993). Although several RECASs are currently in development, substantial uncertainty exists regarding driver response to these systems and the effects they will have on driving safety (McGehee & Brown, 1998;Tijerina, 1998).…”

A methodology for the development of novel VANET safety applications

“…There is thus a possibility of many false warnings being shown to the driver. Over time, this can lead to driver desensitization, which means the driver is likely to ignore the warnings [3]. To prevent this, the application developer must provide a method for estimating the relevance of the information to each vehicle that receives it.…”