Effect of Auditory Road Safety Alerts on Brake Response Times of Younger and Older Male Drivers

Abstract

In-vehicle technology is increasingly being implemented to assist drivers. These technologies could improve driver safety or, conversely, introduce distractions that reduce safety. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a newly developed, commercially available road safety device (Otto Driving Companion, Persen Technologies Inc.) that provides drivers with auditory alerts based on position and velocity data acquired via the Global Positioning System. Auditory alarms warn of situations such as speeding, crosswalks, and red light cameras. To study emergency braking situations, simulated driving was used (STISIM Driving Simulator). Younger male drivers (30 to 50 years old, n = 16) and older male drivers (70+, n = 14) participated in two sessions. In the first session, they were tested for underlying driving abilities, and they practiced driving on the simulator. In the second session, they were refamiliarized with the simulator and then drove two blocks of 10 trials, with and without auditory alerts. Braking events in each trial were either expected (e.g., person crossing at a crosswalk) or unexpected (e.g., person jaywalking). The presentation of auditory alerts resulted in faster brake response times with expected events for both groups (p < .01), and they resulted in even faster response times for the older subjects for unexpected events (p < .05). The auditory alerts also reduced the proportion of events with crashes for the older subjects (from 25.3 ± 21.7% to 10.8 ± 11.9%, p < .05). In conclusion, this simulator study demonstrated that there may be road safety benefits associated with auditory alerts.