Concurrent audio-visual feedback for supporting drivers at intersections: A study using two linked driving simulators

Abstract

A large portion of road traffic crashes occur at intersections for the reason that drivers lack necessary visual information. This research examined the effects of an audio-visual display that provides real-time sonification and visualization of the speed and direction of another car approaching the crossroads on an intersecting road. The location of red blinking lights (left vs. right on the speedometer) and the lateral input direction of beeps (left vs. right ear in headphones) corresponded to the direction from where the other car approached, and the blink and beep rates were a function of the approaching car's speed. Two driving simulators were linked so that the participant and the experimenter drove in the same virtual world. Participants (N = 25) completed four sessions (two with the audio-visual display on, two with the audio-visual display off), each session consisting of 22 intersections at which the experimenter approached from the left or right and either maintained speed or slowed down. Compared to driving with the display off, the audio-visual display resulted in enhanced traffic efficiency (i.e., greater mean speed, less coasting) while not compromising safety (i.e., the time gap between the two vehicles was equivalent). A post-experiment questionnaire showed that the beeps were regarded as more useful than the lights. It is argued that the audio-visual display is a promising means of supporting drivers until fully automated driving is technically feasible.

Information–Movement Coupling in The Control of Driver Approach to an Intersection

“…From a more applied point of view, our results could prove useful when designing adaptive driver assistance systems (ADAS) for use at intersections. While the majority of the ADAS tested so far provided the drivers with cues related to the environment (e.g., the speed of approaching vehicles; Houtenbos et al, 2017), more powerful visual enhancements, i.e., related to the state of the agent-environment system, could benefit the driver. We already tested the usefulness of this type of visual enhancements in the context of landing an airplane (Huet, Jacobs, Camachon, Goulon & Montagne, 2009;Huet, Jacobs, Camachon, Missenard, Gray & Montagne, 2011).…”

Emergency braking at intersections: A motion-base motorcycle simulator study

“…Possible remedies to PTW-car crashes could be adjustments in road design (e.g., the presence of a left-turn lane), automated emergency braking for PTWs (Savino et al, 2016), and vehicle-to-vehicle communication technologies for providing warnings in advance (Houtenbos et al, 2017). Furthermore, we see an opportunity for our results to be used in risk awareness training programs (cf.…”

Take-over again: Investigating multimodal and directional TORs to get the driver back into the loop

“…Schwalk et al (2015) provided dynamic directional vibrotactile cues via the driver seat, which participants rated as appropriate for TORs, whereas Telpaz et al (2015) provided seat vibrations that made drivers aware of surrounding traffic during automated driving. More generally, research in a variety of applications areas has demonstrated the effectiveness of visual, auditory, and vibrotactile directional cues regarding reaction times and situation awareness (Houtenbos et al, 2017;Prewett et al, 2012).…”