Haptic and Auditory Cues for Lane Departure Warnings

Abstract

Lane departures including run-off-road and head-on collisions accounted for 55 percent of all roadway fatalities in the United States in 2003. Static rumble strips on shoulder and centerline have shown promise in reducing lane departures. Recently, more advanced technology has been developed in the form of in-vehicle advanced lane departure warning systems. In this simulator study, fifteen participants received alerting cues in three sensory modalities; haptic (seat vibration), auditory (“rumble strip” sound), and combined auditory and haptic sensory warnings. The haptic modality had significantly faster reaction times than both the auditory and combination modalities. The auditory modality had significantly more maximum steering response than the haptic and combination condition. Drivers perceived the haptic modality to be the least annoying with least interference, while the combination modality was the most preferred in benefit of driving, most likely to purchase, level of trust, level of appropriateness, level of urgency, and overall preference.