How Drivers Respond to Alarms Adapted to Their Braking Behaviour?

Abstract

Determining appropriate alarm timing for Forward Collision Warning Systems (FCWS) may play an important role in enhancing system acceptance by drivers. It is not always true that a common alarm trigger logic is suitable for all drivers, because presented alarms may be differently viewed for each driver, i.e., paying attention or requiring appropriate actions. The current study focused on adaptive alarm timing which was adjusted in response to braking behaviour for collision avoidance for the individual. In Experiment I, the braking performance of individual driver was measured repeatedly to assess the variation of each performance. We utilised the following two indices: elapsed time from the deceleration of the lead car to release of the accelerator (accelerator release time) and elapsed time to application of the brakes (braking response time). Two alarm timings were then determined based on these two indices: (i) the median of the accelerator release time of the driver and (ii) the median of the braking response time of the driver. Experiment II compared the two alarm timings for each driver in order to investigate which timing is more appropriate for enhancing driver trust in the driver-adaptive FCWS and the system effectiveness. The results showed that the timing of the accelerator release time increased the trust ratings more than the timing of braking response. The timing of the braking response time induced a longer response time to application of the brakes. Moreover, the degree to which the response time was longer depended on alarm timing preference of the driver. The possible benefit and drawback of driver-adaptive alarm timing are discussed.