David Hurwitz interview for a Wright State University History Course

On March 1, 2011 Elise Kelly interviewed David Hurwitz, a former professor at Wright State University, for a class project dealing with oral histories and capturing the history of the Miami Valley. During the interview David spoke about his family, activist father, education, and his various positions teaching in Ohio

The Use of a Multi-modal Interface to Integrate In-Vehicle Information Presentation

The car of the future will have many new information sources— including telematics systems, navigation systems and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)—that will compete for a driver’s limited cognitive attention. If they are implemented as completely separate systems then cognitive overload and driver distraction are inevitable outcomes. However, if they are implemented as an integrated intelligent system with a multi-modal interface, then the benefits of such functionality will be achieved with much less impact on driving safety. Such a system will support the task of safe driving by filtering and mediating information in response to real-world driving demands. This paper outlines the Human Factors research program being undertaken by Motorola Labs to evaluate key elements of such a multi-modal interface as well as the key human factors issues involved in a multi-modal interface

Revisiting Driver Behavior at Unsignalized Intersections: Time of Day Implications for Two-Way Left Turn Lanes (TWLTL)

A novel procedure was developed and validated for the accurate observation of naturalistic driver gap acceptance behavior at unsignalized intersections. Specifically, two-way stop-controlled intersections with a two way left turn lane (TWLTL) on the major road were examined. Three intersections were included as experimental locations. A sample size was collected of approximately 875 minor street vehicles which were exposed to over 2400 individual gaps. Characteristics such as gender, approximate age, vehicle type, presence of a queue behind the lead vehicle, and presence of passengers in the vehicle were collected as a function of the time of day (TOD). This work provides updated measures for the accepted gap as TOD varies, as well as exploring how accepted gaps are related to the wait time of a vehicle at the stop line

Static and Dynamic Evaluation of the Driver Speed Perception and Selection Process

Speed impacts the extent to which mobility and safety are experienced across the surface transportation network. By expanding current understanding of speed perception and selection processes our ability to understand and comprehensively address speed-related issues will improve. Driving simulator technology has advanced the field of transportation research. However, it has been limited in its application to speed-related issues. Furthermore, static computer-based evaluations have been used as a means of establishing a preliminary understanding for driver interpretation of stimuli encountered in the roadway, but have been limited in their application to speed. These technologies allow for large sample populations to be evaluated quickly and safely. Phase I of this initiative examined driver ability to perceive travel speeds in a similar real world, simulated world, and static environment. The experimental course traversed roadway where land-use and posted speed limits varied. Drivers’ actual and perceived speeds were recorded at 20 identical “checkpoint” locations in each environment, and the results were analyzed across drivers and environments. Phase II examined three roadway attributes that impact the speed-selection process. A focus group was employed to build improved scenarios of interest for a full-scale static evaluation. In the static environment, 75 drivers were asked how fast they would travel while individual characteristics of the scenario displayed were modified. This multifaceted research initiative expands the potential application of advanced technology in speed-related research, and improves the understanding of factors that influence speed perception and selection processes

Right-Hook Crash Scenario: Effects of Environmental Factors on Driver\u27s Visual Attention and Crash Risk

A right-hook (RH) crash is a common type of bicycle–motor vehicle crash that occurs between a right-turning vehicle and through-moving bicycle at an intersection in right-hand driving countries. Despite the frequency and severity of this crash type, no significant driver-performance based evidence of the causes of RH crashes at signalized intersections was found in the literature. This study examined the driver’s visual attention in a right-turning scenario at signalized intersections with bicycle lanes but no exclusive right-turning lanes while interacting with a bicyclist to develop an understanding of RH crash causality. Fifty-one participants in 21 simulated road scenarios performed a right-turning maneuver at a signalized intersection while conflicting with traffic, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Overall, a total of 820 (41 × 20) observable right-turn maneuvers with visual attention data were analyzed. The results show that in the presence of conflicting oncoming left-turning vehicular traffic, drivers spent less visual attention on the approaching bicyclist, thus, making them less likely to be detected by the driver. The presence of oncoming left-turning traffic and the bicyclist’s speed and relative position, and conflicting pedestrians were found likely to increase the risk of RH crashes. The results of the current study will help identify effective crash mitigation strategies that may include improving the vehicle–human interface or the implementation of design treatments in the road environment to improve driver and bicyclist performance

Online Survey of Driver Comprehension of the Flashing Yellow Arrow for Right-Turn Signal Indications

This paper presents the results of an online survey of licensed driver comprehension of the right-turn signal displays with a focus on the flashing yellow arrow (FYA) and also including the circular green and red and red arrow. Recruitment postcards were mailed to a random sample of 9,872 residents in Oregon. The online survey yielded 399 responses. The open-ended responses were coded for comprehension and analyzed. The results suggest that FYA for right turns is well understood by Oregon drivers despite its current novelty (only two locations at the time of the research). Importantly, survey respondents were more likely to recognize the yielding requirement of the permissive movement and associate the yielding with pedestrians with the FYA over the circular green (CG) display. The research also confirmed that the expected driver response to the red arrow display for right turns is not well understood (only 52% of the respondents correctly stated the expected driver response). Binary logistic regression modeling revealed that the driver’s age and their educational level were significant factors in comprehension