Effects of Road Type and IVIS Task Type on Driver Behavior and Driving Performance in Agricultural Tractors

Abstract

In recent years, terrible driver behavior and driving performance have been the primary causes of increasing agricultural tractor accidents. However, how environmental factors influence driver behavior and driving safety is not clarified clearly yet for tractors. Therefore, this article researched the effects of road type and in-vehicle information system (IVIS) task type on driver behavior and driving performance. Thirty-two participants were randomly assigned to four groups equally. They finished the simulation on three types of roads while each group conducted one different IVIS task. Drivers’ wrist movement acceleration (ACC), rotation angular velocity (GYRO), and surface temperature (TEMP) were recorded and statistically analyzed together with the driving performance parameter (DP) and workload index. Results showed that road and IVIS task types significantly affected drivers’ ACC, GYRO, TEMP, and DP. IVIS task type significantly affected driver workload. This article will contribute to road and tractor IVIS design, driver behavior and safety research.