Time-To-Collision: A Sensitive Measure of Driver Interaction with Traffic in a Simulated Driving Task

Abstract

In the future, on-board driver monitoring systems could use time-to-collision (TTC) metric algorithms as a real-time measure of driving performance, and alert the driver if performance falls below minimum performance criteria. Such monitoring systems remain years away, but it is currently possible to measure TTC in a simulator. This paper discusses a study to determine whether TTC varies as a function of driver impairment in a simulated driving task. Alcohol was administered to eleven participants, and TTC measures were obtained at 0.00%, 0.04% and 0.08% blood alcohol concentrations (BAC). The results support use of the median TTC, which varied as a function of BAC, as a measure of in-traffic maneuvering performance.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Allen

R. W.

Stein

A. C.

(1987). The Driving Task. Driver Performance Models and Measurements. Paper presented at the Second International Symposium on Medicinal Drugs and Performance, Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Allen

R. W.

Rosenthal

T. J.

Parseghian

, (1994). Low Cost Driving Simulation for Research, Training and Screening Applications. Prepared for 1995 SAE Congress.

Cahalan

Cisin

I. H.

Crossley

H. M.

(1969). American Drinking Practices. Connecticut: College & University Press.

Hoffman

E. R.

Mortimer

R. G.

(1994). Drivers' estimates of time-to-collision. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 26(4), 511–520.

Perkins

S. R.

Harris

K. I.

(1967). Traffic Conflict Characteristics: Accident Potential at Intersections, General Motors Corp., Warren, MI.

Sidaway

Fairweather

Sekiya

McNitt

J. Gray

(1996). Time-to-collision estimation in a simulated environment. Human Factors, 38(1) 101–113.

Stein

A. C.

Allen

R. W.

Parseghian

(1992). The Use of Low-Cost Driving Simulation to Detect Impaired Drivers. Presented at the IMAGE VI Conference, Scottsdale, AZ.

Van der Horst

A. R.

(1990). Time-Based Analysis of Road User Behaviour in Normal and Critical Encounters, Doctoral Thesis, Technizche Hogeschool Delft (Netherlands), 24 April, 1990, available from NTIS, PB91–157362.

Zeitlin

L. R.

(1995). Estimates of driver mental workload: A long-term field trial of two subsidiary tasks. Human Factors, 37(3), 611–621.