Understanding the distraction and behavioural adaptations of drivers when experiencing failures of digital side mirrors

Abstract

Digital mirrors within vehicles may improve aerodynamics and the field of view. Nevertheless, digital technology may fail. This study investigated the influences of different failures on distraction and behavioural adaptation, measured using glance and driving behaviour, as well as a workload questionnaire. Three failure conditions included a blank (no information), a degraded (hard to extract information), and a frozen (misleading information) display. In a high-fidelity simulator, 30 participants undertook three drives in a UK motorway scenario. During the second drive, the right (offside) digital mirror failed during the instruction to conduct a left–right lane-change manoeuvre, and remained until the end of that drive. Results show that failures led to longer and more glances towards the driver-side mirror, increased variability of speed and lateral position, and heightened workload; however, these distracting and behavioural effects lessened in future drives. Behavioural adaptations in the form of increased rear-view mirror or blind-spot checks could not be established. There were indications that the blanked mirror affected workload less than the other failures.