The Effects of an Eco-Driving Interface on Driver Safety and Fuel Efficiency

Real-time, in-vehicle guidance on eco-driving is likely to produce substantial improvements in vehicle fuel economy. However, the benefits of such in-vehicle systems should be achieved without impairing driver safety. A simulator study evaluated both visual and haptic eco-driving feedback systems, which provided advice on gas pedal usage. Hill driving scenarios with variable traffic density were used to test drivers’ prioritization of safe and fuel-efficient driving. A visual, second-order display and a haptic force feedback gas pedal created the smallest errors in gas pedal usage and so maximized fuel efficiency. The visual display increased time spent looking away from the road, implying reduced driver safety. Participants were worse at eco-driving in more demanding, high traffic conditions. Drivers appeared to prioritize safety over eco-driving, however safety margins were shorter in the high density traffic condition, despite the degradation in eco-driving performance. The findings suggest which modality could be most appropriate for presenting in-vehicle eco-driving guidance, and hint that these systems should advise drivers based on the prevailing traffic conditions

Bilingual Variable Message Signs: A Study of Information Presentation and Driver Distraction

Research on static bilingual signs has confirmed increasedreading times compared to their monolingual counterparts; however there islittle empirical research on bilingual Variable Message Signs (VMS). Thestudy reported here evaluates the effect of various bilingual VMSconfigurations on driver behaviour and safety. The aim of the study was todetermine whether or not the visual distraction associated with bilingualVMS signs of different configurations (length, complexity) impacted ondriving performance. The results suggest that four-line bilingual VMS signscomprising 2 lines of text in each language are read by both monolingualand bilingual drivers in a manner that more closely approximates a two-linemonolingual sign. This being the case it is likely that the deployment offour-line bilingual signs on Welsh motorways is unlikely to result in asignificant reduction in safety

THE EFFICACY OF MOTORCYCLE TRAINING TO REDUCE SELF-REPORTED NEGATIVE BEHAVIOUR AND ATTITUDE (CASE STUDY IN UK AND INDONESIA)

Motorcyclists are vulnerable road users because of their particular combination of physical vulnerability. Motorcyclists’ training and licensing system have already implemented in so many countries in the world particularly developed countries. In the other hand, there are countries, particularly developing countries, where motorcyclists are less regulated in term of licensing, enforcement, and insurance. Therefore the objective of this research are to analyses the behavior and attitude of motorcyclists in Yorkshire and Humber Region (UK) and Jakarta (Indonesia), and to analyses the efficacy of motorcycle training in UK to influence the self-reported negative behavior and attitude of motorcyclists.Motorcycle Rider Behavior Questionnaire (MRBQ) and Motorcyclists Attitude Questionnaire (MAQ) are used to conduct this study. The Mann Whitney test is used to evaluate the significance different of the mean score, which obtained from the survey in each country (UK and Indonesia).Mean score computation showed that Yorkshire and Humber Region’s respondents have better mean score than Jakarta’s respondents. However Mann Whitney test showed that the mean score different is not significant for speed violation factor in MRBQ and drink driving and speeding factor in MAQ.Keywords: motorcyclist, motorcycle training, Motorcycle Rider Behavior Questionnaire (MRBQ), Motorcyclist Attitude Questionnaire (MAQ)

Would those who need ISA, use it? Investigating the relationship between drivers' speed choice and their use of a voluntary ISA system

Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) is one of the most promising new technologies for reducing the prevalence and severity of speed-related accidents. Such a system could be implemented in a number of ways, representing various "levels of control" over the driver. An ISA system could be purely advisory or could actually control the maximum speed of a vehicle. A compromise would be to introduce a system that allows a driver to choose when to engage ISA, thus creating a “voluntary” system. Whilst these voluntary systems are considered more acceptable by drivers, they will not offer safety benefits if they are not used by the driver. Two studies were carried out that examined the relationship between drivers’ reported and actual speeding behaviour, their propensity to engage a voluntary ISA system and their attitudes towards such a system. These studies were carried out in a driving simulator and in an instrumented vehicle. In both the studies, drivers’ propensity to exceed the speed limit was lowered when ISA was available but this effect was confined to the lower speed limits. In general, drivers engaged ISA for approximately half of their driving time, depending on the speed limit of the road and indeed, on the nature of the road and the surrounding traffic. This was particularly true in the field study where drivers were more inclined to “keep up with” the surrounding traffic. The results from the on-road study indicated that those drivers who considered ISA to be both a useful and pleasant system, were overall more likely to engage it. However, those drivers who confessed to enjoying exceeding the speed limit were less likely to use ISA. This is an important finding when considering the mechanisms for implementing ISA: those drivers who would benefit most would be less likely to use a voluntary system

Managing nonuniformities and uncertainties in vehicle-oriented sensor data over next generation networks

Detailed and accurate vehicle-oriented sensor data is considered fundamental for efficient vehicle-to-everything V2X communication applications, especially in the upcoming highly heterogeneous, brisk and agile 5G networking era. Information retrieval, transfer and manipulation in real-time offers a small margin for erratic behavior, regardless of its root cause. This paper presents a method for managing nonuniformities and uncertainties found on datasets, based on an elaborate Matrix Completion technique, with superior performance in three distinct cases of vehicle-related sensor data, collected under real driving conditions. Our approach appears capable of handling sensing and communication irregularities, minimizing at the same time the storage and transmission requirements of Multi-access Edge Computing applications

Could Intelligent Speed Adaptation make overtaking unsafe?

This driving simulator study investigated how mandatory and voluntary ISA might affect a driver's overtaking decisions on rural roads, by presenting drivers with a variety of overtaking scenarios designed to evaluate both the frequency and safety of the manoeuvres. In half the overtaking scenarios, ISA was active and in the remainder ISA was switched off. A rural road was modelled with a number of 2 + 1 road sections, thus allowing drivers a protected overtaking opportunity. The results indicate that drivers became less inclined to initiate an overtaking manoeuvre when the mandatory ISA was active and this was particularly so when the overtaking opportunity was short. In addition to this, when ISA was activated drivers were more likely to have to abandon an overtaking, presumably due to running out of road. They also spent more time in the critical hatched area - a potentially unsafe behaviour. The quality of the overtaking manoeuvre was also affected when mandatory ISA was active, with drivers pulling out and cutting back in more sharply. In contrast, when driving with a voluntary ISA, overtaking behaviour remained mostly unchanged: drivers disengaged the function in approximately 70% of overtaking scenarios. The results of this study suggest that mandatory ISA could affect the safety of overtaking manoeuvres unless coupled with an adaptation period or other driver support functions that support safe overtaking

How I reduce fuel consumption: An experimental study on mental models of eco-driving

Eco-driving has the potential to reduce fuel consumption and therefore emissions considerably. Previous research suggests that drivers have a certain level of eco-driving knowledge and skills, which they refrain from practising in their everyday lives. At the same time misconceptions and ambiguous messages from eco-driving support systems can confuse and demotivate. This research aimed to identify the mental models of eco-driving that regular drivers have. A driving simulator experiment with a varied road layout comprising urban and motorway sections was designed. The study used simple driving task instructions to investigate changes in the participants’ behaviour and thoughts in three conditions. Sixteen drivers were asked to ‘Drive normally’, ‘Drive safely’ or ‘Drive fuel-efficiently’. Behavioural measures, think aloud protocols and interviews were compared and analysed. The emphasis of this study was on eco-driving relevant indicators such as accelerating, braking, coasting and car-following. The results show that the participants do have mental models of eco-driving, which they did not use in the Baseline drive, when they were instructed to ‘Drive normally’. Misconceptions about speed and travel time provide the potential for more effective communication with the driver about the momentary efficient speed as well as resulting time losses and fuel savings. In addition, in-vehicle guidance can increase driving safety compared to practicing eco-driving without them

Is three the magic number? The role of ergonomic principles in cross country comprehension of road traffic signs

Road sign comprehension plays an important part in road safety management, particularly for those drivers who are travelling in an unfamiliar country. Previous research has established that comprehension can be improved if signs are designed to adhere to ergonomic principles. However, it may be difficult for sign designers to incorporate all the principles into a single sign and may thus have to make a judgement as to the most effective ones. This study surveyed drivers in three countries to ascertain their understanding of a range of road signs, each of which conformed in varying degrees and combinations to the ergonomic principles. We found that using three of the principles was the most effective and that the most important one was that relating to standardisation; the colours and shapes used were key to comprehension. Other concepts which related to physical and spatial characteristics were less important, whilst conceptual compatibility did not aid comprehension at all. Practitioner Summary: This study explores how road sign comprehension can be improved using ergonomic principles, with particular reference to cross-border drivers. It was found that comprehension can be improved significantly if standardisation is adhered to and if at least three principles are used