Attention Enhancement During Steering Through Auditory Warning Signals

Nowadays modern cars integrate advanced driving assistance systems which range up to fully automated driving modes. Since fully automated driving modes have not come into everyday practice yet, operators are currently making use of assistance systems. While still being in control of the vehicle, alerts signal possible collision dangers when, for example, parking. The reason for the necessity of such warnings is the fact that humans have limited resources. A critical event can stay unnoticed simply because the attention was focused elsewhere. This raises the question: What is an effective alert in a steering environment? Auditory warning signals have been shown to efficiently direct attention. In the context of traffic, they can prevent collisions by heightening the driver's situational awareness to potential accidents.