Forthcoming – ITS America – June 2009 -1- DEVELOPMENT OF A DRIVER AWARE VEHICLE FOR MONITORING, MANAGING & MOTIVATING OLDER OPERATOR BEHAVIOR

We present research in progress to develop an “Aware” vehicle concept to improve operator performance, mobility and safety. The Aware Vehicle project, in part, seeks to develop systems that communicate with the infrastructure, monitor the operating environment and detect operator state. A further component of this system is informational feedback to the driver that will inform the driver of their relative wellbeing, enhancing their awareness of the operating environment, thus enhancing their capacity to self-regulate and improve their driving. Our approach emphasizes context aware technologies and their possible capacity to monitor driver performance, manage workload, and motivate safe driving behaviors of passenger car and commercial drivers across the lifespan are discussed. We conclude with questions and implications for future research and practice.