ASSESSING NEW DRIVING SUPPORT SYSTEMS: CONTRIBUTION OF AN ANALYSIS OF DRIVERS' ACTIVITY IN REAL SITUATIONS

The authors' research work is in keeping with an Autonomous Intelligent Cruise Control (AICC) design project. It aims at assessing the integration of this new device in driving activity, and especially its impact on drivers' strategies. From this standpoint, their approach is focused on an in-depth study of drivers' activity in various real traffic situations. Understanding the processes underlying drivers' practice should provide a basis for evaluating the type of assistance actually supplied by the device and for identifying problematic situations. This should enable them to provide the designers with data for enhancing the compatibility of the device with drivers' needs and for increasing its usability and acceptance. The methodology used involves the observation of experienced drivers' behavior combined with their simultaneous verbal reports when driving on a motorway with and without the AICC device. The data are recorded continuously (on computer and video) during a three-hour journey for each driver. The analysis consists of comparing drivers' customary strategies and those they adopted when driving with the AICC device. Two levels of analysis are applied: a) an overall analysis of drivers' behavior according to several indicators (such as lanes used and changing lane manoeuvres, involvement in "critical car-following episodes"); b) an in-depth analysis of drivers' change-of-lane strategy which reflects the way they manage their interactions with various traffic conditions. These analyses highlighted the way in which drivers allow for the control mode proposed by AICC in their driving. A number of behavioural adaptations were identified and discussed, concerning in particular the drivers' strategies with respect to occupancy of traffic lanes and margins adopted for car-following. Their results emphasized that these behavioral changes seem to depend on the "driving styles" of the drivers. More generally, they stressed that it is important to take into account situational variables to analyze these changes.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Full conference proceedings available only on CD.
• Corporate Authors:

  ITS America

  1100 17th Street, NW, 12th Floor
  Washington, DC  United States  20036
• Authors:
  • Saad, F
  • Villame, T
• Conference:
  • Intelligent Transportation: Realizing the Future. Abstracts of the Third World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems
  • Location: Orlando, Florida
  • Date: 1996-10-14 to 1996-10-18
• Publication Date: 1996

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: n.p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Advanced vehicle control systems; Assessments; Autonomous intelligent cruise control; Behavior; Car following; Drivers; Driving; Lane changing; Lane distribution; Motor vehicles; Research
• Old TRIS Terms: Autonomous vehicle navigation; Driving styles; Support systems
• Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00741728
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 19 1997 12:00AM