Driver Performance with a Collision Avoidance System

Abstract

Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) have enhanced the way we can deal with road safety issues. Unlike in-vehicle safety systems such as air bags and safety belts that focus on injury reduction, many new in-vehicle systems are now focused on accident prevention by providing assistance to the driver during the driving task. One such driving aid is a warning system to alert the driver to an impending collision. Our study evaluated the effects of imperfect warning collision alarms on driver behavior. Results showed that drivers tend to overestimate their headway, and that systems that alert drivers to unsafe temporal headways are useful in teaching drivers to estimate headway more accurately. Subjects responded properly to the warnings, both under conditions of true and of false alarms.