Assessment of Drivers’ Perceptions of Connected Vehicle–Human Machine Interface for Driving Under Adverse Weather Conditions: Preliminary Findings From Wyoming

Abstract

Connected vehicle (CV) technology aims to improve drivers' situational awareness through audible and visual warnings displayed on a human-machine interface (HMI), thus reducing crashes caused by human error. This paper developed a driving simulator test bed to assess the readability and usefulness of the Wyoming CV applications. A total number of 26 professional drivers were recruited to participate in a driving-simulator study. Prior to driving the simulator, the participants were trained on both the concept of CV technology and the developed CV applications as well as the operation of the driving simulator. Three driving simulation scenarios were designed. For each scenario, participants drove two times: one with the HMI turned on and another one with the HMI turned off. After driving the simulator, a comprehensive revealed-preference survey was employed to collect the participants' perceptions of CV technology and Wyoming CV applications. Results show that the Wyoming CV applications were most favored under poor-visibility driving conditions. Among the Wyoming CV applications, forward collision warning and rerouting applications were experienced as the most useful. Approximately 89% of the participants stated that the Wyoming CV applications provided them with improved road condition information and increased their experienced safety while driving; 65% of the participants stated the CV applications and the HMI did not introduce distraction from the primary task of driving. Finally, this paper concludes that the design of CV HMI needs to balance a trade-off between the readability of the warnings and drivers' capability to safely recognize and timely respond to the received warnings.

Driving Simulator Trajectory-Level Analysis of Truck Drivers’ Behavioral Alteration in Connected Vehicles Environment Under Fog with Complex Roadway Geometry

“…Also, aligned with the Human Factors Design Guidance for Driver-Vehicle Interfaces regulations, the HMI was mounted on the right side of the steering wheel above the dashboard, as shown in Figure 1, e and f ( 46 ). Further information about this can be found in ( 40 , 47 ).…”

“…It is worth noting that, in the CV scenario, the CV notifications displayed on the HMI were accompanied by a simple “beep” to capture more drivers’ attention to the received notifications in line with the WYDOT CV pilot and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recommendations ( 47 , 48 ). In this regard, although the auditory-warning modality might be effective for passenger cars, it might not be the best way for warning truck drivers because of the high noise level in their cabins.…”

“…In trucks’ cabins, auditory warnings would be masked by the different noise sources caused by the nature of trucks. Besides, repeated voice messages for CV notifications were not adopted because they might distract drivers trying to comprehend their content in a noisy environment ( 47 , 48 ).…”

“…It is worth mentioning that the HMI used in this study was carefully designed based on standards for effective HMIs, including readability, clarity, interpretability, accessibility, and ease of handling ( 69 ). Under the WYDOT CV pilot, the effectiveness of the designed HMI and different auditory warning modalities, as well as their minimal distraction impact on drivers, were comprehensively analyzed using vehicles’ trajectories, questionnaire survey, and eye-tracking analysis ( 40 , 47 , 70 – 73 ). These analyses ensured the reliability of this study’s results.…”

“…In the non-CV scenario, where HMI was off, no information about the upcoming weather condition and the associated advisory speed was given to drivers. However, in the CV scenario, two notifications about the forthcoming foggy weather condition and the advisory speed of 45 mph were given to the drivers via HMI, accompanied by a ''beep'' sound to best draw drivers' attention (47). In this regard, the effect of the CV notifications on drivers' behavior was unveiled by analyzing vehicles' trajectories in CV and non-CV environments.…”