When road users predict the future movement of an approaching vehicle at an intersection, they need to consider not only the physical environment but also the predicted behavioral intention of the approaching driver. In the present experiments, we asked participants to imagine how a vehicle would approach in a natural traffic environment. In Experiment 1, participants estimated the time-to-contact with an approaching vehicle as longer when they were physically vulnerable. In Experiment 2, we confirmed that differences in participants' eye height did not explain the findings of Experiment 1. In Experiment 3, we asked participants to indicate the last possible moment at which they could cross an intersection in front of an approaching vehicle. Participants left a shorter safety margin when they were more physically vulnerable than the approaching vehicle. The results indicate that road users' perceived vulnerability is a cue for them to trust the approaching driver's intention to decelerate. This viewpoint is important for interventions to prevent unrealistic trust that an approaching vehicle will avoid an accident and subsequent trust-based behaviors.
Augmented reality (AR) is an emerging technology in which information is superimposed onto the real world directly in front of observers. AR images may behave as distractors because they are inside the observer’s field of view and may cause observers to overlook important information in the real world. This kind of overlooking of events or objects is known as “change blindness.” In change blindness, a distractor may cause someone to overlook a change between an original image and a modified image. In the present study, we investigated whether change blindness occurs when AR is used and whether the AR presentation method influences change blindness. An AR image was presented binocularly or monocularly as a distractor in a typical flicker paradigm. In the binocular presentation, the AR image was presented to the both of the participants’ eyes, so, it was not different from the typical flicker paradigm. By contrast, in the monocular presentation, the AR image was presented to only one eye. Therefore, it was hypothesized that if participants could observe the real-world image through the eye to which the AR image was not presented, change blindness would be avoided because the moment of change itself could be observed. In addition, the luminance of the AR image was expected to influence the ease to observe the real world because the AR image is somewhat translucent. Hence, the AR distractor had three luminance conditions (high, medium, and low), and we compared how many alternations were needed to detect changes among the conditions. Result revealed that more alternations were needed in the binocular presentation and in the high luminance condition. However, in all luminance conditions in the monocular presentation, the number of alternations needed to detect the change was not significantly different from that when the AR distractor was not presented. This result indicates that the monocular presentation could attenuate change blindness, and this might be because the observers’ visual attention is attracted to the location where the change has occurred automatically.
Objective We focused on drivers in close proximity to vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). We examined whether the belief that an approaching vehicle is equipped with automatic emergency braking (AEB) influences behavior of those drivers. Background In addition to benefits of ADAS, previous studies have demonstrated negative behavioral adaptation, that is, behavioral changes after introduction of ADAS, by its users. However, little is known about whether negative behavioral adaptation can occur for nonusers in close proximity to vehicles with ADAS. Method Experienced (Experiment 1) and novice (Experiment 2) drivers drove a simulator vehicle without ADAS and tried to pass through intersections. We manipulated participants’ belief about whether an approaching vehicle had AEB and time-to-arrival of the approaching vehicle. Participants kept constant speed or pressed the brake pedal before entering each intersection. In Experiment 2, participants rated their trust in AEB by a questionnaire after driving. Results In both experiments, belief about the approaching vehicle’s AEB did not influence braking probability; however, belief delayed initiation of braking. The effect of belief on braking latency was only observed when trust in AEB was higher in Experiment 2. Conclusion Negative behavioral adaptation can occur for nonusers in close proximity to users of AEB, and trust in AEB plays an important role. Application When evaluating the effect of ADAS, the possible behavioral change of surrounding nonusers as well as users should be taken into account. To establish consumers’ trust accurately, advertisements (e.g., TV commercials) must carefully consider their messages.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.