When faced with a potential hazard, drivers often need to evaluate the situation and choose an avoidance maneuver quickly. Studies of emergency perception-response time by drivers have reported a range of mean values, and a number of factors have been identified or proposed to account for some of the variability between and within studies. One factor that has not attracted much attention in this literature is response accuracy. We propose that examination of this literature from within a speed/accuracy tradeoff framework may help explain some of the range of findings in driver reaction time research. This perspective may be useful when applying research results to practical questions such as motor vehicle accident reconstruction.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AyresT.KelkarR.KennettK. (2005). Intersection right-of-way: What is an immediate hazard?Proceedings of the 49th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 872-875.
2.
BroenN. L.ChiangD. P. (1996). Braking response times for 100 drivers in the avoidance of an unexpected obstacle as measured in a driving simulator. Proceedings of the 40th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 901-905.
3.
DilichM.KopernikD.GoebelbeckerJ. (2002). Evaluating driver response to a sudden emergency: Issues of expectancy, emotional arousal and uncertainty. SAE Technical Paper 2002-01-0089.
4.
FambroD. B.KoppaR. J.PichaD. L.FitzpatrickK. (1998). Driver perception-brake response in stopping sight distance situations. Transportation Research Record, 1628, 1-7.
5.
FittsP. M. (1954). The information capacity of the human motor system in controlling the amplitude of movement. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 47, 381-391.
6.
ForkenbrockG.SnyderA.HeitzM.HooverR. L.O’HarraB.VaskoS.SmithL. (2011). A test track protocol for assessing forward collision warning driver-vehicle interface effectiveness. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT HS 811 501.
7.
GarrettH. E. (1922). A study of the relation of accuracy to speed. Archives of Psychology, 56, monograph.
8.
GreenM. (2000). “How long does it take to stop?”: Methodological analysis of driver perception-brake times. Transportation Human Factors, 2 (3), 195-216.
9.
GreenM. (2009). Perception-reaction time: Is Olson (& Sivak) all you need to know?Collision, 4 (2), 88-93.
10.
HankeyJ. M.McGeheeD. V.DingusT. A.MazzaeE. N.GarrottW. R. (1996). Initial driver avoidance behavior and reaction time to an unalerted intersection incursion. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 40th Annual Meeting, 896-899.
11.
KoppaR. J.FambroD. B.ZimmerR. A. (1996). Measuring driver performance in braking maneuvers. Transportation Research Record, 1550, 8-15.
12.
LechnerD.MalaterreG. (1991). Emergency maneuver experimentation using a driving simulator. SAE Technical Paper 910016, 129-142.
13.
LernerN. D. (1993). Brake perception-reaction times of older and younger drivers. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 37th Annual Meeting, 206-210.
14.
MazzaeE. N.BarickmanF. S.ForkenbrockG.BaldwinG. H. (2003). NHTSA light vehicle antilock brake system research program task 5.2/5.3: Test track examination of drivers’ collision avoidance behavior using conventional and antilock brakes. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT HS 809 561.
15.
McLaughlinS. B.HankeyJ. M.DingusT. A.KlauerS. G. (2009). Development of an FCW algorithm evaluation methodology with evaluation of three alert algorithms. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT HS 811 145.
16.
MeffordM. L.FlannaganM. J.BogardS. E. (2006). Real-world use of high-beam headlamps. University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, Report No. UMTRI-2006-11
17.
MortimerR. G. (1971). Hard braking is more common than you might think. Automotive Engineering, 79 (8), 32.
18.
MuttartJ. W. (2005). Quantifying driver response times based upon research and real life data. 3rd International Driving Symposium on Human Factors in Driver Assessment, Training, and Vehicle Design, 3, 8-29.
19.
OlsonP. L. (1989). Driver perception response time. SAE Technical Paper 890731, 67-77.
20.
OlsonP. L. (2001). Driver perception-response time. Chapter 3 in
DewarR. E.OlsonP. L. (Eds.), Human Factors in Traffic Safety. Lawyers & Judges, Tucson, AZ.
21.
OlsonP. L.DewarR. D.FarberE. (2010). Forensic Aspects of Driver Perception and Response. Lawyers & Judges, Tucson, AZ.
22.
OlsonP. L.SivakM. (1986). Perception-response time to unexpected roadway hazards. Human Factors, 28 (1), 91-96.
23.
PachellaR. G.PewR. W. (1968). Speed-accuracy tradeoff in reaction time: Effect of discrete criterion times. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 76 (1), 19-24.
24.
PewR. W. (1969). The speed-accuracy operating characteristic. Acta Psychologica, 30, 16-26.
25.
SchmidtR. A. (1988). Motor Control and Learning: A Behavioral Emphasis (2nd edition). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
26.
SchmidtR. A. (1993). Unintended acceleration: Human performance considerations. In PeacockB.KarwowskiW. (Eds.), Automotive Ergonomics. London, England: Taylor and Francis.
27.
SensM. J.ChengP. H.WiechelJ. F.GuentherD. A. (1989). Perception/reaction time values for accident reconstruction. SAE Technical Paper 890732, 79-94.
28.
Taieb-MaimonM.ShinarB. (2001). Minimum and comfortable driving headways: reality versus perception. Human Factors, 43 (1), 159-172.
29.
TaokaG. T. (1989). Brake reaction times of unalerted drivers. ITE Journal, 59, 19-21.
30.
WoodC. C.JenningsJ. R. (1976). Speed-accuracy tradeoff functions in choice reaction time: Experimental designs and computational procedures. Perception & Psychophysics, 19 (1), 92-102.
31.
YoungD. E.AyresT. J.SchmidtR. A.BjelajacV. M. (1996). Inherent movement variability as a cause of stair accidents. Proceedings of the Silicon Valley Ergonomics Conference & Exposition, 297-301.
