DRIVER DISTRACTION AND IN-VEHICLE INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN NATURALISTIC DRIVING CONDITIONS

Anagha, P and Ganesh, M P (2019) DRIVER DISTRACTION AND IN-VEHICLE INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN NATURALISTIC DRIVING CONDITIONS. Masters thesis, Indian institute of technology Hyderabad.

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Abstract

Road traffic crashes are identified to be a major cause of death and disability in India. Research in Traffic Psychology has attempted to study the factors that lead to crashes and human factors have identified to be a major factor along with road and vehicle design. Driver's visual attention on the road has been found to be a crucial human factor that determines safety on road. The number of in-vehicle systems is on a rise these days. The cognitive demands posed by these systems on driver's attention on the road are rarely studied in the literature. Most studies in this field are either conducted on simulators or test tracks. It is in this context the present study attempts to explore driver distraction and factors leading to it, with an emphasis on in-vehicle systems. The study follows a quantitative methodology involving naturalistic observation of driver behaviours in cars with and without the touch control in-vehicle system. 5 subjects from each group hosted a dashboard camera from which the recorded footages were selected for analysis. The subjects then underwent an attention span test using Tachistoscope apparatus to study the impact of attention span on driver's attention off the road. The researcher also conducted a debriefing session with the participants to understand their subjective experience of the in-vehicle system present in their car. The results of the study will be helpful in exploring the driver distraction from a holistic view and contribute to designing better ergonomic in-vehicle systems from the users’ perspective.

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