Evaluation of a Novel Emergency Braking Task on a Driving Simulator with Haptic Anti-Lock Braking System Feedback

Rear-end crashes are one of the leading types of crashes today. The anti-lock braking system (ABS) was designed to assist drivers during emergency braking situations by preventing wheel lock up, allowing drivers to retain control of the vehicle. Not all drivers have knowledge and experience with ABS, especially the haptic brake pedal feedback produced by ABS. There studies introduce a new method to train ABS using an emergency braking task on a simulator and an interactive exercise, Pedals Emergency Stop©. The interactive exercise was designed to prompt participants to press the brake pedal in a motion that is consistent with emergency braking and experience haptic ABS feedback. Participants that depressed the brake pedal quickly to the maximum travel and held that pedal position “passed” the trial. In Study 1, participants (N = 63) completed 15 trials, where it took on average three trials to “pass” for the first time, and 85% of the participants experienced their first “pass” within the first four trials. There were no differences observed between participants with previous knowledge and experience feeling ABS versus those who did not have prior knowledge and experience with ABS. The participants in this study thought that they had enough trials, that the exercise was a practical tool, and recommended the task for new drivers and refresher training, as well as for evaluating fitness to drive. Suggested improvements included a practice followed by three tests, all with four trials each; passing criteria of three out of four trials; and modifications to the feedback presented immediately after completing each trail. Study 2 was conducted (N = 38) to investigate the proposed “passing” criteria, where 95% passed on Test 1. The results revealed that the criteria to pass was reasonable. Future research should examine how the Pedals Emergency Stop© interactive exercise generalizes to on-road driving

Evaluation of a Novel Emergency Braking Task on a Driving Simulator with Haptic Anti-Lock Braking System Feedback

Rear-end crashes are one of the leading types of crashes today. The anti-lock braking system (ABS) was designed to assist drivers during emergency braking situations by preventing wheel lock up, allowing drivers to retain control of the vehicle. Not all drivers have knowledge and experience with ABS, especially the haptic brake pedal feedback produced by ABS. There studies introduce a new method to train ABS using an emergency braking task on a simulator and an interactive exercise, Pedals Emergency Stop©. The interactive exercise was designed to prompt participants to press the brake pedal in a motion that is consistent with emergency braking and experience haptic ABS feedback. Participants that depressed the brake pedal quickly to the maximum travel and held that pedal position “passed” the trial. In Study 1, participants (N = 63) completed 15 trials, where it took on average three trials to “pass” for the first time, and 85% of the participants experienced their first “pass” within the first four trials. There were no differences observed between participants with previous knowledge and experience feeling ABS versus those who did not have prior knowledge and experience with ABS. The participants in this study thought that they had enough trials, that the exercise was a practical tool, and recommended the task for new drivers and refresher training, as well as for evaluating fitness to drive. Suggested improvements included a practice followed by three tests, all with four trials each; passing criteria of three out of four trials; and modifications to the feedback presented immediately after completing each trail. Study 2 was conducted (N = 38) to investigate the proposed “passing” criteria, where 95% passed on Test 1. The results revealed that the criteria to pass was reasonable. Future research should examine how the Pedals Emergency Stop© interactive exercise generalizes to on-road driving

A User-Centered Design Exploration of Factors That Influence the Rideshare Experience

The rise of real-time information communication through smartphones and wireless networks enabled the growth of ridesharing services. While personal rideshare services (individuals riding alone or with acquaintances) initially dominated the market, the popularity of pooled ridesharing (individuals sharing rides with people they do not know) has grown globally. However, pooled ridesharing remains less common in the U.S., where personal vehicle usage is still the norm. Vehicle design and rideshare services may need to be tailored to user preferences to increase pooled rideshare adoption. Based on a large, national U.S. survey (N = 5385), the results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses suggested that four key factors influence riders’ willingness to consider pooled ridesharing: comfort/ease of use, convenience, vehicle technology/accessibility, and passenger safety. A binomial logistic regression was conducted to determine how the four factors influence one’s willingness to consider pooled ridesharing. The two factors that positively influence riders’ willingness to consider pooled ridesharing are vehicle technology/accessibility (B = 1.10) and convenience (B = 0.94), while lack of passenger safety (B = −0.63) and comfort/ease of use (B = −0.17) are pooled ridesharing deterrents. Understanding user-centered design and service factors are critical to increase the use of pooled ridesharing services in the future