Connected Vehicle Alerts: One Size Doesn’t Fit All Scenarios

This paper explores differences in crash scenarios that may be meaningful in designing auditory alerts for connected vehicle systems. As part of an effort to examine safety benefit associated with characteristics of auditory crash warnings with a focus on vehicle-to-vehicle applications three crash scenarios were used; rear-end crash with Forward Collision Warning (FCW) at five sites and 520 total participants, junction crossing crashes with Intersection Movement Assist (IMA), and opposite direction crashes with Left Turn across Path (LTAP) at four sites and 416 total participants. Participants at each site were balanced across gender and two age groups (ages 25-39, 40-55). The same protocol was followed at each data collection site. The characteristics of these crash situations differed. The FCW event had a distracted driver and a visible threat at the time of alert. The IMA and LTAP events had no visible threat at the time of alert and the LTAP event had the complexity of the driver making a left turn without a clear view of the oncoming lane. Results indicate reaction time varies by type of event and whether the driver crashes is determined by not only how quickly the driver responds but also the nature of the response. When an actual threat is visible, the FCW event, or a potential threat can be surmised, the LTAP event, that drivers respond with similar haste. However, the absence of an obvious threat, such as the IMA event, does not lead to an immediate avoidance response to the alert.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AND20 Standing Committee on User Information Systems.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Marshall, Dawn
  • Wu, Xingwei
  • Brown, Timothy
  • Boyle, Linda Ng
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2017-1-8 to 2017-1-12
• Date: 2017

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 17p
• Monograph Title: TRB 96th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Audible warning devices in vehicles; Crash avoidance systems; Crash characteristics; Intersections; Left turns; Reaction time; Vehicle to vehicle communications
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01626394
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 17-05876
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 23 2017 2:56PM