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Bilingual Variable Message Signs: A Study of Information Presentation and Driver Distraction
Get PDFResearch on static bilingual signs has confirmed increasedreading times compared to their monolingual counterparts; however there islittle empirical research on bilingual Variable Message Signs (VMS). Thestudy reported here evaluates the effect of various bilingual VMSconfigurations on driver behaviour and safety. The aim of the study was todetermine whether or not the visual distraction associated with bilingualVMS signs of different configurations (length, complexity) impacted ondriving performance. The results suggest that four-line bilingual VMS signscomprising 2 lines of text in each language are read by both monolingualand bilingual drivers in a manner that more closely approximates a two-linemonolingual sign. This being the case it is likely that the deployment offour-line bilingual signs on Welsh motorways is unlikely to result in asignificant reduction in safety
Depth Perception in Driving: Alcohol Intoxication, Eye Movement Changes, and the Disruption of Motion Parallax
Get PDFMotion parallax, the ability to recover depth from retinal motion, is acrucial part of the visual information needed for driving. Recent work indicatesthat the perception of depth from motion parallax relies on the slow eyemovement system. It is well known that that alcohol intoxication reduces the gainof this slow eye movement system, the basis for the "horizontal gaze nystagmus"field sobriety test. The current study shows that alcohol intoxication also impairsthe perception of depth from motion parallax due to its influence on the slow eyemovement system. Observer thresholds in both active and passive motion parallaxtasks are significantly increased by acute alcohol intoxication. Perhaps such afailure of motion parallax plays a role when intoxicated drivers must make quickjudgements with what could be inaccurate or missing perceptual information aboutthe location of obstacles around them
Distraction Potential of Speech-Based Driver Interfaces
Get PDFA common assumption concerning speech-based interaction with an invehicleinformation system is that the speech-based interaction does not distract driver,because the driver is not required to take his eyes off the road. This assumption does nottake into consideration the cognitive demand placed on the driver. This cognitive demandmay be highly dependent upon the nature of the interaction and may increase when errorsoccur in the interchange between the driver and the speech-based system. When theautomatic speech recognition system makes an error, the driver must first recognize thatan error has been made, determine how to recover from the error, trace back to theprevious menu, and repeat the command to get the desired result. These additional stepsand the error recovery process may place significant cognitive demands on driver.Understanding how these errors and the recovery process affects driver attention to theroad is a critical design consideration for speech-based interaction with in-vehicleinformation systems. This paper describes an initial experiment to address this issue andprovides a theoretical framework to help identify the requirements of a speech-interfaceneeded to support easy error recovery. Because speech interactions will always besubject to human and system error, understanding how to support the robust interaction iscritical in minimizing driver distractio
Drowsy Driver Monitor and Warning System
Get PDFThe design and use of a low-cost drowsy driver monitor, the Copilot, and proposed driver interfaces are presented. The Copilot consists of a digital camera integrated with a low-cost digital signal processor (DSP). The Copilot is a functionally enhanced version of a previous monitor that has been successfully used in a variety of research projects in simulators and in over-the-road vehicles. Compared to its predecessor, the new monitor is small and easy to use, providing an effective research tool for the field or in the laboratory. The Copilot measures slow eyelid closures as represented by PERCLOS (Percent Eyelid Closure). PERCLOS is defined as the proportion of time that a subject's eyes are closed over a specified period. PERCLOS has been separate-ly validated in two independent laboratories as an accurate predictor of performance degradation in sleep-deprived subjects. The current driver interface is based on recent experimental results that drowsiness feedback can reduce drowsiness and improve driver performance for sleep deprived truck drivers operating a truck simulator. This controlled experiment was undertaken with n = 16 Commercial Driving License (CDL) holders driving a high-fidelity truck simulator (TruckSim®) to establish the effects of drowsiness feedback on: (1) driver alertness drowsiness; (2) driving performance and (3) driver-initiated behaviors. Subjects served as their own controls, driving one simulated 4-hr night drive without drowsiness feedback (control condition) and one simulated 4-hr night drive with drowsiness feedback (feedback condition). Although there was significant between-subject variability in drowsiness and consequently in the number of drowsiness-based alarms and warning alerts, drowsiness feedback tended to have consistent effects on key classes of outcome variables, including reduced drowsiness levels, improved driver performance and self alerting activities (driver movements). The warning triggers are associated with PERCLOS calculated over three minutes. The current interface consists of an audible tone that is associated with the readings of a visual gauge. Work is continuing over the next year to refine the driver interfac
Visual Attention and Roadway Landmark Identification in At-Risk Older Drivers,
Get PDFDriving is a complex task that makes high demands on visual processing capacity. Reduction of visual attention and processing speed are risk factors for car crash involvement in older drivers (Owsley et al, 1991; Ball et al, 1993). Impairment of these visual functions can affect driver safety by impairing the ability to search for information in a cluttered panorama that includes traffic signals and road signs. The purpose of the current study was to examine the extent to which on-road landmark identification during the driving task is predicted by off-road measures of visual attentio
Improving Safety for Drivers and Fleets: Historical and Innovative Approaches
Get PDFA two-day conference that addressed “Improving Safety for Drivers and Fleets” was held at Carnegie Mellon University and sponsored by the 21st Century Driver and Truck Alliance and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The conference brought together stakeholders within the trucking industry and safety experts from other industries to explore approaches to improve driver and fleet safety. The goal of the conference was to facilitate discussions among industry stakeholders as a first step in identifying and implementing effective safety processes that may advance the FMCSA's ambitious goal of 50% reduction in truck-related fatalities by 2010. On Day One there were three sessions related to trucking and industrial safety. The first session offered two views of historical safety initiatives as a foundation for understanding current industry safety practices. The second session focused on current efforts by government, fleets and truck manufacturers. The third session provided an opportunity for presenters to describe successful safety programs not currently being widely applied to the trucking industry. On Day Two a morning-long panel discussion considered the approaches presented the previous day. A subsequent brainstorming session involving all attendees generated other independent or related approaches. The goals of the discussions on Day Two were 1) to identify practical safety steps that can be applied by fleets and drivers now and in the near future and 2) to identify potential partnerships for implementing and testing new safety initiatives. Ultimately, the panelists and participants developed 26 action items that will be ranked and used as a springboard for future truck safety efforts
Infrastructure Systems for Intersection Collision Avoidance
Get PDFThis paper will describe conceptual outlines of possible infrastructure intersection collision avoidance systems. The infrastructure concepts represent countermeasures for crossing path crashes at intersections. Crossing path crashes involve one vehicle cutting across the path of another, both initially traveling from either perpendicular or opposite directions, in such a way that they collide. Infrastructure-based intersection collision avoidance systems use roadside sensors, processors, and warning devices; roadside-vehicle communication devices; and traffic signals to provide driving assistance to motorists
Investigating Drivers' Traffic Knowledge in Jordan
No full textJordan’s fatality rate per registered vehicle is approximately 7.5 times larger than that of the United States (157.2 per 100,000 in Jordan vs 21.0 per 100,000 in the U.S.). This project addresses the traffic safety problem in Jordan by evaluating driver’s knowledge of existing traffic laws and regulations. An experiment was conducted in which 55 subjects with current driver’s licenses were administered a test composed of 25 questions selected from actual Jordanian driver’s license exams. Statistical analyses were then conducted on the results. It was found that a shocking 96.4% of the drivers in this study failed to pass the simulated written driver’s license exam, with professional drivers scoring worse than non-professional drivers. Based on the findings, recommendations are made regarding Jordanian public policy governing driver’s licensing, including more frequent retesting of drivers, a higher standard of knowledge for traffic rules, and a nationwide program to assess the relationship between driver knowledge, driver behavior, and crash and fatality rates
Preliminary Studies of Mono-Pulse Braking Haptic Displays for Rear-End Collision Warning
Get PDFThis paper summarizes two studies of mono-pulse braking for rear-end collision avoidance applications. The first study was a single-vehicle parameter-setting study without a lead vehicle that produced recommended pulse braking display duration and jerk rate. However, results also indicated that pulse braking display magnitude influenced the magnitude of driver braking behavior. A second study examined the impact of this driver interface concept both when a lead vehicle was braking to a stop and when the display came on even though the lead vehicle was not slowing down. The results indicated that in the first case drivers modulated their response according to the constraints of the situation rather than the magnitude of the haptic display. On approximately one-third of false positive trials, brief and mild inappropriate braking responses were recorded
An Evaluation of the Effects of a Functional Energy Drink on Post-lunch and Early Evening Driving Performance
Get PDFThis paper reports the results of a pilot study designed to evaluatethe effect of an energy drink on mental performance and driving. 24 healthysubjects were tested after consumption of a placebo or an energy drink in adouble-blind crossover study. Measures included a laboratory test of AdaptiveTracking (AT), and a simulated drive involved a 40 Km motorway route in anadvanced motion-based simulator. Self-report scales of sleepiness revealed asignificant difference between placebo and energy drink. Though both drinksprovided an alerting effect, both the level and duration of the effect observedafter consumption of the energy drink was greater. Performance on the AT taskwas significantly improved. This improvement in hand-eye coordination wasreflected in better lane-keeping performance in the simulated driving task.There was also a consistent tendency when the drivers drank placebo to driveslightly faster in traffic than when drinking the energy drink. Thesepreliminary findings, which demonstrate that consumption of even a relativelysmall volume (250ml) of an energy drink can have an effect on sleepiness, lanekeeping and speed choice in simulated traffic, could have implications forfuture highway safety