Smart Vehicles: New Directions for Human Factors Safety Research

Abstract

Advances in technology are being incorporated in motor vehicles at an increasing pace. These technologies have applications that may improve driver safety, comfort, and convenience. Among the “Smart Vehicle” applications that have been proposed are navigation systems, near obstacle detection systems, drive-by-wire, and active suspensions. In order for these systems to be effective, they need to be designed in consonance with driver needs, capabilities, and limitations. One concern is that unless human factors issues are addressed, new technologies not only may fall short of their potential for improving safety, but also may confuse or overload the driver and reduce safety. Because of this concern, a major focus of the crash avoidance research program at the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) is on human factors issues associated with new vehicle technologies. The panel will feature presentations of NHTSA perspectives and research programs followed by discussants from the private sector describing their views on human factors research needs for improving vehicle safety in the 90′s. The introductory paper will present background on current and near future research directions at NHTSA. The next presentation will describe the status of the NHTSA program to develop an advanced research simulator. The final presentation will discuss potential applications of the simulator to human factors research. The discussants will provide reactions to the research envisioned by NHTSA as well as their own perspectives on research from the private sector point of view. Two of the discussants are from the motor vehicle manufacturing industry and one has an academic/private consulting background. It is hoped that this panel will provide a broad perspective on the challenges of vehicle safety research and will stimulate new interest by human factors researchers to become involved in this important field.