CAR DRIVING AS A SUPERVISORY CONTROL TASK

In the literature automobile driving has almost exclusively been modeled on the basis of the lateral position of the car inside the traffic lane, i.e. lateral vehicle control, and, to a lesser extent, on the basis of the velocity of the car, i.e. longitudinal vehicle control. It has been assumed that the drivers are continuously fully attentive in order to minimize all path deviations. However, this assumption is in contradiction with actual driving, in which drivers normally do not attempt to compensate for all path deviations because, for instance, drivers are confronted with several tasks to perform simultaneously. The models developed for vehicle control are valuable for driving situations in which lateral control requires all the driver's attention, for example during the compensation of heavy sidewind disturbances or during driving a strongly curved road. Normally however, these situations are not frequently met. Therefore, a description of driving should take its starting point differently. In this thesis new approaches are discussed by considering driving within the context of supervisory control. This means that the driver is assumed to supervise the singular tasks like lateral and longitudinal vehicle control, each of which is assumed to be autonomously controlled to a certain extent. The driver only intervenes when the condition of a singular task force him to do so. In this approach an integral description of multitask performance in driving becomes possible. (TRRL)

• Corporate Authors:

  TNO INSTITUTE FOR PERCEPTION

  KAMPWEG 5, PO BOX 23
  SOESTERBERG,   Netherlands  3769 ZG
• Authors:
  • Blaauw, G J
• Publication Date: 1984

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 127 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automated vehicle control; Automobiles; Control rooms; Driver performance; Drivers; Driving; Equipment; Forecasting; Handling characteristics; Lateral placement; Mathematical models; Motor skills; Motor vehicles; Night; Perception; Personnel performance; Psychology; Raised road markings; Road markings; Speed; Theses; Traffic speed; Vision
• Uncontrolled Terms: Models; Supervisory control systems
• Geographic Terms: Netherlands
• ITRD Terms: 1243: Car; 562: Carriageway marking; 1855: Driving (veh); 3674: Equipment; 132: Forecast; 6473: Mathematical model; 8078: Netherlands; 9052: Night; 2229: Perception; 2255: Psychology; 551: Road stud; 2205: Skill (road user); 5408: Speed; 8597: Thesis; 1646: Vehicle handling; 2066: Vision
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00395993
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Institute for Road Safety Research, SWOV
• Report/Paper Numbers: Monograph, HS-039 359
• Files: HSL, ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 31 1986 12:00AM