Studying the effects of in-vehicle information systems on driver visual behaviour – implications for design

In-vehicle information systems (IVIS) are a common feature in modern vehicles. The interaction of drivers with IVIS when driving must be considered to minimise distraction whilst maintaining the benefits provided. This research investigates the glance behaviours of drivers, assessed from video data, when using two functions – a personal navigation device (study 1) and a green driving advisory device (study 2). The main focus was to establish the number of glances of 2 seconds or more to the IVIS and relate this to driver safety (as stipulated in new guidelines for use of IVIS proposed by NHTSA). In study 1, the percentage of eyes- off-road time for drivers was much greater in the experimental (with device) condition compared to the baseline condition (14.3% compared to 6.7%) but, whilst glances to the personal navigation device accounted for the majority of the increase, there were very few which exceeded 2 seconds. Drivers in study 2 spent on average 4.3% of their time looking at the system, at an average of 0.43 seconds per glance; no glances exceeded 2 seconds. The research showed that ordinary use of IVIS (excluding manual interaction) does not lead to driver visual distraction and therefore the impact on safety is minimal. The results of the study have important design implications for future in-vehicle information systems

Male and female car drivers - difference in collision and injury risks

Crash data from two UK resources were examined for differences between male and female passenger car drivers in collision circumstances and injury outcomes. The proportion of female car licence holders is growing, women are more likely to be the driver in a collision and are more vulnerable to injury particularly neck strain. Women drive smaller, lighter cars compared to men and are more often the driver of the smaller vehicle in a multivehicle collision. Vehicle design, crash testing programmes and regulation, currently based heavily on the average male, should give more balanced consideration to female characteristics in future activities

A comparison of injury risk and pattern of injury for male and female occupants of moden European passenger cars

Accident injury data from the UK Cooperative Crash Injury Study (CCIS) was examined for differences between men and women in accident circumstances and injury outcomes. The CCIS database from 1992 to 2000 contains "in-depth" information on almost 14000 car occupants from real road accidents. Although females constitute only around 40% of the sample, they outnumber males in the passenger seats. This shows that women should not be neglected in the design of vehicle safety systems. Soft tissue neck injury (whiplash) is more common among women in all accident types, and there are other differences in the vulnerability to injury and the body region most likely to be injured in frontal, side and rear impacts. The tuning of advanced restraint systems and vehicle crumple zones may offer further potential benefits to women. Today’s vehicle safety community has inherited an emphasis on male characteristics in its knowledge base, research and testing programs, and regulations. Funding bodies should be aware of this and encourage a balanced consideration of female characteristics

Methodological aspects of field operational tests of after-market and nomadic driver support systems and impacts on mobility

Background: This paper reports on the methodology undertaken and some results achieved within a study of drivers using aftermarket and nomadic devices (the TeleFOT project). Objective: To evaluate the methodology for conducting Field Operational Tests for Information and Communication Technology whilst also providing an example of the method applied in the context of mobility within the TeleFOT project. Method: ‘Top down, bottom up’ approach to the derivation of research questions and hypotheses is described. Statistical analysis has been undertaken on data collected through Field Operational Tests and Travel Diaries considering the impact of information functions (such as navigation, traffic information and green driving) upon journey length. Results: A summary of the results relating specifically to how the length of a journey can be affected by information functions indicates that Navigation and Traffic information can reduce the length of journeys whilst Green Driving functions tend to increase the journey length. Conclusion: The FOT methodology was successfully applied in the TeleFOT project as was the novel method for generating research questions. When turning the theoretical FOT method developed in FESTA into practice, several good innovations were made which and can be recommended for future FOTs; collation of metadata, the use of comparable origin / destination pairs for analysis, centralised processing of raw data into legs in order to simplify the analysis of the huge datasets collected in the project

Investigation of the protection of children in minibuses and coaches

The draft European Directive on the use of seatbelts requires passengers of minibuses and coaches to use the safety systems (seatbelts) provided. As the wording stands, this requirement applies to children over 3 years, but the need for additional protection is not clear. This need has long been recognised in cars where the requirements for protection vary according to the size of child and the characteristics of both the vehicle and the crash. However, this knowledge base does not adequately address what means of protection children need in minibuses, buses and coaches. Research has been commissioned by the UK Department for Transport to determine the requirements for seatbelts and restraint systems in minibuses and coaches in relation to children. Information is being gathered about exposure, accidents, operational issues of use, practicality and liability and the fit of existing seatbelt systems for different age groups of children and particularly those under 3 years

The influence of driver's psychological states on the safety perception of hydrogen electric vehicles

The environmental and sustainable problems caused by automotive exhaust emission have received more attention than ever. Innovative vehicle technologies, such as hydrogen fuel cell and electric vehicles, have been developed a long time ago to cope with the problem. Public acceptance of these electric vehicle technologies is critical to their successful replacement of the internal combustion engine vehicles and thus reduce the emissions. Previous researches had shown that the main barriers were the lack of support infrastructures, high vehicle purchase cost and vehicle reliability with respect to safety. However, studies into the public safety perception of hydrogen-fuelled vehicles have still been limited to date. In this paper, a quantitative survey was developed to investigate the public safety concerns of three types of vehicle powertrain: the internal combustion engine, the hybrid electric and the solely electric vehicle. The study indicates the root cause of the low safety perception at present. The survey results also indicate that that driving freedom is nowadays not just a problem of infrastructure only but is gradually becoming a psychological issue in terms of increased driver’s mental stress, and thus, the overall driving safety is affected. Furthermore, this paper states the existence of an evaluation chain to determine the driver’s safety perception. In the end, this paper proposed a comprehensive framework of the negation of driver’s safety concerns regarding the hydrogen-fuelled electric vehicle, based on the results from the survey and a review of psychological effects. This framework intends to explain the perceived safety perception from a wider angle with some in-depth

AIS 3+ head injury mechanisms and crash characteristics - a review of airbag deployed crashes

Previous studies have shown steering hub airbags to be effective in reducing the rate of serious head and facial injuries for drivers of passenger cars involved in frontal impacts. However, real world accident data shows that approximately 3% (50 out of 1680) of drivers in a sample of crashes received an AIS 3+ head injury despite a steering hub airbag having deployed. For struck-side occupants with deployed head protection 12% had an AIS 3+ head injury. This paper examines the nature and mechanism of the specific head injuries together with the surrounding crash characteristics in order to identify further occupant protection requirements beyond the scope and capability of the airbag. The in-depth case review has revealed that, among cases within the CCIS database, only 0.5% of those with deployed frontal head protection but 12% of those with deployed struck-side head protection show potential for improvement in occupant head protection

Belted driver protection in frontal impact - what has been achieved and where do future priorities lie?

Examining Injuries to real people in real crashes is the ultimate way to validate improvements in crashworthiness as well as to determine where future priorities lie. Examination of U.K national statistics showed that, coincident with the introduction of airbags and better restraints there was a significant fall in the rates of killed/seriously injured car occupants as well as a significant fall in the number of car occupant fatalities. Interrogation of the UK in-depth crash injury data for belted driver injury risk in frontal crashes showed substantial reductions in injury risk for the head in newer cars. Risk of serious injury to the chest, thigh and leg showed little change between older and newer vehicles despite controlling for occupant parameters

Time-to-collision analysis of pedestrian and pedal-cycle accidents for the development of autonomous emergency braking systems

The aim of this study was to describe the position of pedestrians and pedal cyclists relative to the striking vehicle in the three seconds before impact. This information is essential for the development of e ective autonomous emergency braking systems and relevant test conditions for consumer ratings. The UK RAIDS-OTS study provided 175 pedestrian and 127 pedal-cycle cases based on in-depth, at-scene investigations of a representative sample of accidents in 2000–2010. Pedal cyclists were scattered laterally more widely than pedestrians (90% of cyclists within around 80 degrees compared to 20 degrees for pedestrians), however their distance from the striking vehicle in the seconds before impact was no greater (90% of cyclists within 42 metres at three seconds compared to 50 metres for pedestrians). This data is consistent with a greater involvement of slow moving vehicles in cycle accidents. The implication of the results is that AEB systems for cyclists require almost complete 180 degree side-to-side vision but do not need a longer distance range than for pedestrians

Struck side crashes involving post-regulatory European passenger cars - crash characteristics and injury outcomes

This study examines some characteristics of struck side impact crashes involving post-regulatory passenger cars. The UK National Accident Database (STATS 19) and UK In-depth Accident Database (CCIS) were analysed to determine crash characteristics and injury outcomes in struck side impacts. UK national accident data shows that clear improvements in injury outcomes in side impacts have been observed when a sample of ‘older’ vehicle designs are compared to ‘newer’ vehicle designs. Analysis of the characteristics of crashes in which serious injury occurs suggests that the conditions in terms of collision speed and height of impact (on the struck vehicle) do not usually match those of the UNECE R95 test specification. Mitigation of serious head and chest injuries remains a challenge in struck-side impact crashes; head injuries are most frequently associated with a contact with an external object and chest injuries with the intruding side door