Abstract
Authors have focused on a technique to avoid traffic accidents, which gives a driver the information about hazardous events and their directions by use of an alarm beep sound. In this study, we examined accuracy of drivers’ sound localization and a suitable beep sound. In the experiment, short-term beep sounds were presented from one of four speakers installed inside the experimental vehicle and participants answered the direction from which the beep sound was issued. The accuracy of distinguishing between the right and left side was high (circa 90%), whereas it was not so high (40-80%) between the front and rear. We found that the sound movement is effective to improve the accuracy of sound localization in the front area in the vehicle.
