Abstract
This study was conducted to evaluate driver's mental burden relative to the vehicle's response phase lag, an important parameter of its steering response characteristics. The mental burden evaluation was carried out based on the skin resistance level [SRL], skin resistance reflex [SRR] and heart rate [HR] according to responses the selected drivers presented while performing steering controls. The series of tests were by an experimental vehicle with variable steering response characteristics and a steering simulator. And specified conditions depended on types of desired values to be achieved and mental state of drivers during control efforts.
The findings indicate that a shorter lag in the vehicle's response phase helps to reduce driver's mental burden. However, a reverse tendency appears when vehicle phase lag becomes smaller than a certain level. It was also found that there is a fairly close interrelationship among the control performances of a driver-vehicle system, and driver's subjective ratings.
