Robinson 1 CRASH WARNING INTERFACE METRICS: EVALUATING DRIVER-VEHICLE INTERFACE CHARACTERISTICS FOR ADVANCED CRASH WARNING SYSTEMS

The Crash Warning Interface Metrics (CWIM) project addressed issues of the driver-vehicle interface (DVI) for Advanced Crash Warning Systems (ACWS). The focus was on identifying the effects of certain warning system features (e.g., warning modality) and on establishing common methods and metrics that may be generally applied for evaluating DVIs in different vehicles. The project did not have the goal of proposing standard interfaces for particular warning functions, but it did consider implications for design. The project included analytical activities and five experiments. Each experiment investigated the effects of ACWS DVI on driver behavior or comprehension using a different methodology. An objective of these studies was to determine the appropriateness of the various methodologies for use in subsequent human factors research on ACWS DVIs. Implications were discussed for methods to evaluate DVIs including driving scenarios, research participant characteristics, pre-familiarization with the warning system, the distraction task, the participant’s task and associated expectancies, accommodating user settings and options, the use of comparison benchmarks, and issues in the treatment of data. Key research needs were identified for carrying the work of this project forward, including research related to ACWS modality, ACWS design, and CWIM assessment methods. INTRODUCTION