PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN THE DESIGN OF AUTOMOTIVE SIGNALING SYSTEMS
THE MAN-MACHINE-HIGHWAY SYSTEM MUST BE DESIGNED TO MINIMIZE THE OCCURRENCE OF CRASHES AND THEIR SEVERITY WHEN THEY DO OCCUR. ONE ASPECT IS DISCUSSED THAT IS RELATED TO THE REDUCTION OF THE OCCURRENCE OF CRASHES WHICH IS THE DESIGN OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS UTILIZED BY THE DRIVER. CRASHES ARE PRODUCED BECAUSE A DRIVER DOES NOT HAVE SPECIFIC INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO HIM AT A PARTICULAR TIME OR THAT HIS INTERPRETATION OF DISPLAYED INFORMATION MAY BE INAPPROPRIATE. BOTH SITUATIONS REDUCE TO THE SAME THING, SINCE EITHER THE LACK OF INFORMATION OR ITS MISINTERPRETATION IMPAIRS DECISION-MAKING. AUTOMOBILE REAR- LIGHTING SYSTEMS EMPLOY TWO BASIC CODES: INTENSITY AND STEADY BURNING VERSUS FLASHING LIGHTS. THE ADDITION OF COLOR CODING AND NUMBER CODING COULD LEAD TO USEFUL IMPROVEMENTS. DESIGN OF AN IMPROVED REAR-LIGHTING SYSTEM REQUIRES CONSIDERATION OF TWO MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS: (1) THE SYSTEM MUST PRESENT ONLY THE KIND OF INFORMATION FOUND TO BE OF GENUINE IMPORTANCE TO FOLLOWING DRIVERS, BECAUSE IT IS ESSENTIAL TO KEEP THE SYSTEM AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE AND TO SIMPLIFY THE DECODING TASK OF THE DRIVER, (2) SIGNALS MUST BE DISPLAYED IN SUCH A WAY THAT CONTAINED INFORMATION WILL BE TRANSMITTED IN THE SHORTEST POSSIBLE TIME. IT IS CONSID- ERED IMPORTANT TO DETERMINE THE VALUE AND EFFECTIVENESS OF A VEHICLE REAR-LIGHTING DISPLAY BY CONSIDERING THE ROLE OF THE SYSTEM AS AN ENTITY OPERATING IN THE HIGHWAY SITUATION. ITS EFFECTIVENESS WILL BE A FUNCTION OF ITS ABILITY TO PERFORM IN THE GREAT VARIETY OF HIGHWAY SITUATIONS.
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Supplemental Notes:
- pp 29-42, 9 FIG, 3 TAB, 24 REF
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Authors:
- Mortimer, R G
- Publication Date: 1970
Media Info
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Behavior; Color codes; Crash severity; Decision making; Drivers; Flashing; Information systems; Prevention; Safety; Taillamps; Traffic crashes; Vehicle lighting
- Old TRIS Terms: Driver psychology
- Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00220901
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: pp 104-108
- Files: TRIS
- Created Date: Jun 22 1970 12:00AM