Acknowledgements

1. Evaluation of a Nighttime Directional Guidance System for Heavy Vehicles Richard Hanowski, Ph.D.Virginia Tech Transportation Institute ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

2. U.S Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Acknowledgements • FMCSA funded- DRFH61-00P-00471 • Tim Johnson was COTR • Phil Roke served as COTR early in the project • Paul Rau (NHTSA) provided technical input • VTTI assistance from Miguel Perez, Seth Cross, Jon Hankey, Walt Wierwille, Andy Petersen, Rebecca Olson, Eryn Perry ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

3. INTRODUCTION ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

4. Problem • Over 3 million single vehicle roadway departures (SVRD) each year • Result in 13,000 fatalities and an estimated $100 billion in damage • Combination-unit trucks are involved in 31,000 SVRD crashes annually • Out of the 4,847 fatal crashes in 1999 that involved a large truck, the number one driver-related factor was the driver’s failure to keep in the lane ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

5. Potential Countermeasure Laser Guidance System (by Mr. Locke White) • 2 fixed-point lasers (class 3A), positioned on either side of the vehicle • The laser device emits red “dots” ~ 7.26 m (25 ft) ahead on the pavement • Dots provide the driver with path prediction information; indicate the vehicle’s path should the driver maintain the current heading ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

6. Driver’s View Simulated View ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

7. Laser Schematic ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

8. Research Objective • The goal of this research was to collect data to investigate the effectiveness of this guidance device: • Determining the impact that a laser directional guidance system has on improving a driver’s ability to maintain directional control • Assessing the extent to which such a device would enhance or reduce driving performance, workload, and situation awareness • Determining the attitudes of truck drivers towards the device ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

9. Cost Comparison ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

10. METHOD ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

11. Overview • To achieve the research objectives, an on-road empirical field study was conducted • All experimental tasks required driving an instrumented 1997 Volvo, VN-series class 8 tractor with a 14.63 m (48 ft) trailer • The LG system’s effect on the commercial vehicle driver was measured by evaluating how the driver’s driving performance, workload, and situation awareness changed during exposure to the system ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

12. Experimental Design • Mixed factorial design with one between-subject variable (Driving Experience, experienced/ inexperienced) and one within-subject variable (Laser Guidance System Status, on/off) • N=16 • Experienced = > 5 yrs; Inexperienced = < 2 yrs • The LG system’s presentation order was counter-balanced • The test route was divided into quarters of approximately 96.56 km (60 miles) per quarter • Half of the subjects had the laser presentation order, on-off-on-off, while the other half had the opposite order, off-on-off-on ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

13. Instrumented Truck ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

14. RESULTS ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

15. Investigate System Impact On… • Lane Keeping Behavior • Driving Performance Metrics • Driver Acceptance and Opinions • Sample of the results are presented; all findings included in final report ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

16. Number of Lane Deviations Driver Experience • Experienced drivers had less than half the number of deviations than inexperienced drivers (8.75 vs. 17.8) Experience X LG System Status • When the system was on, number of lane deviations was reduced for inexperienced drivers (from 20.19 to 15.5; 23.23% reduction) • No reduction for experienced drivers ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

17. 35 Laser Off Laser On 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 ? 2 yrs ? 5 yrs Driver Experience Number of Lane Deviations ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

18. Mean Headway • LG Status X Driver Experience • Consistent headway for experienced drivers when system on or off • Less headway for novice drivers when system off • Headway increased by 0.22 sec when system on for novice drivers (~21 ft at 65 mph) • Unexpected safety benefit for novice drivers? • Red dots act as extension of truck, or more cautious behavior due to increased cognitive load? ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

19. Laser Off 3.5 Laser On 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 ? 2 yrs ? 5 yrs Driver Experience Mean Headway ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

20. CONCLUSIONS ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

21. Conclusions • Lane keeping improvement • 23% reduction in lane deviations for novice • No reduction for experienced drivers • System may serve as useful training tool for novice drivers • Negligible negative impact on driving performance • Possible reduction in SA with initial use • Unexpected benefit of increasing headway for novice drivers ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

22. Conclusions • Novice drivers derive most benefit • Are practical implications of this finding- most lane departure crashes occur with younger drivers (Wang & Knipling, 1994) • Novice drivers need help most • Favorable driver opinion • Cost effective countermeasure ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

23. Next Steps • System has cleared preliminary hurdles, further research warranted • Look at driver’s re-design suggestions • Move dot location further out • Increase size of dots • Change color of dots (other than red- color of taillights) • Automatically deactivate under specified speed (e.g., 35 mph) where greatest likelihood of lasers path being crossed • Need to assess driver behavior with long-term use (does long-term use introduce negative behaviors?) • Other applications for message presentation location? ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003

24. hanowski@vtti.vt.edu ITSA’s 13th Annual Meeting- May 22, 2003