Abstract
We investigate how quickly drivers can change lanes in response to a visual in-car warning. Our work is motivated by technological developments, in which beacons along the road can trigger in-car warnings, for example when a driver is approaching a lane closure. What is not known, however, is at what distance such an in-car warning still allows for a timely lane change. We measured how quickly drivers respond to a visual in-car warning in a driving simulator. The driving task was combined with an audio task that provided different levels of cognitive distraction. We found that the initial reaction time to in-car warnings was significantly larger for drivers that were distracted by the audio task. Although the majority of drivers responded in time for a safe lane change, some drivers occasionally missed these signals, pointing at a serious potential hazard. Indeed, the results of a simulation model, used to investigate how this might extrapolate to regular traffic conditions, suggest that around 50% of drivers might not make a timely lane change in response to a last-minute warning. This indicates that these signals might be insufficient on their own when applied in the real world. This work can inform the design and evaluation of safer roads and in-car interfaces.
Highlights
Roadwork sites have a higher crash rate than the same roads without roadworks (Khattak, Khattak, & Council, 2002)
This technology can be used to display visual warnings in a car and as such allows for warning a driver for an upcoming traffic event. These beacons could be used on roadwork safety trailers (Fig. 1) to inform drivers of an upcoming lane closure
Is this enough distance to make a fast and safe lane change? We investigate this in the current study, by studying how fast drivers are able to respond to a sudden in-car warning that informs them about upcoming roadwork
Summary
Roadwork sites have a higher crash rate than the same roads without roadworks (Khattak, Khattak, & Council, 2002). A specific technology that has been identified for this effort is to place beacons that can transmit wireless messages to cars equipped with an appropriate receiver (cf IEEE, 2010). This technology can be used to display visual warnings in a car and as such allows for warning a driver for an upcoming traffic event. These beacons could be used on roadwork safety trailers (Fig. 1) to inform drivers of an upcoming lane closure
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More From: Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour
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