Browsing by Subject "Driver information systems"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    In-Vehicle Dynamic Curve-Speed Warnings at High-Risk Rural Curves
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2018-03) Davis, Brian; Morris, Nichole L.; Achtemeier, Jacob D.; Patzer, Brady
    Lane-departure crashes at horizontal curves represent a significant portion of fatal crashes on rural Minnesota roads. Because of this, solutions are needed to aid drivers in identifying upcoming curves and inform them of a safe speed at which they should navigate the curve. One method for achieving this that avoids costly infrastructure-based methods is to use in-vehicle technology to display dynamic curve-speed warnings to the driver. Such a system would consist of a device located in the vehicle capable of providing a visual and auditory warning to the driver when approaching a potentially hazardous curve at an unsafe speed. This project seeks to determine the feasibility of in-vehicle dynamic curve-speed warnings as deployed on a smartphone app. The system was designed to maximize safety and efficacy to ensure that system warnings are appropriate, timely, and non-distracting to the driver. The developed system was designed and implemented based on the results of a literature survey and a usability study. The developed system was evaluated by 24 Minnesota drivers in a controlled pilot study at the Minnesota Highway Safety and Research Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The results of the pilot study showed that, overall, the pilot study participants liked the system and found it useful. Analysis of quantitative driver behavior metrics showed that when receiving appropriately placed warnings, drivers navigated horizontal curves 8-10% slower than when not using the system. These findings show that such a curve-speed warning system would be useful, effective, and safe for Minnesota drivers.
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    Investigating the Effectiveness of Using Bluetooth Low-Energy Technology to Trigger In-Vehicle Messages in Work Zones
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2016-12) Liao, Chen-Fu; Donath, Max
    In order to reduce risky behavior around workzones, this project examines the effectiveness of using invehicle messages to heighten drivers’ awareness of safety-critical and pertinent workzone information. This investigation centers around an inexpensive technology based on Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) tags that can be deployed in or ahead of the workzone. A smartphone app was developed to trigger nondistracting, auditory-visual messages in a smartphone mounted in a vehicle within range of the BLE workzone tags. Messages associated with BLE tags around the workzone can be updated remotely in real time and as such may provide significantly improved situational awareness about dynamic conditions at workzones such as: awareness of workers on site, changing traffic conditions, or hazards in the environment. Experiment results indicate that while travelling at 70 mph (113 km/h), the smartphone app is able to successfully detect a long-range BLE tag placed over 410 feet (125 meters) away on a traffic barrel on a roadway shoulder. Additional experiments are being conducted to validate the system performance under different roadway geometry, traffic, and weather conditions.
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    Risk Evaluation for In-Vehicle Sign Information
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2016-05) Schlicht, Erik J.; Morris, Nichole L.
    The goal of the study was to examine the influence of in-vehicle signing (IVS) pertaining to four types of changing driving conditions and determine the utility and potential safety costs associated with the IVS information. Signage displayed on a personal navigation device was presented for specific zones within the simulation to assist drivers’ preparation for transitioning to new driving conditions ahead. These zones included: speed zone changes within the same roadway, notification of school zones, notification of work zones, and notification of curves. Driving performance measures known to be related to distraction as well as subjective usability and workload measures were used to help identify potential distraction associated with the IVS information. Moreover, risk analysis was conducted to evaluate the safety associated with IVS technology compared to the known safety levels with standard roadside signage. The objective measures collected in this study (both driving performance and risk analysis) indicated that implementing IVS technology would impact driving performance in the following manner: When IVS was deployed in the absence of external signs, speeding behavior significantly increased relative to baseline levels. IVS technology was not observed to impact speeding behavior when external signs were also present. Risk analysis suggested that IVS technology (when used in conjunction with external signs) can improve the safety associated with frontal-impact crashes; however, risk analysis proved that safety across all crash types was significantly reduced below baseline levels when IVS was used without external signs. Moreover, subjective usability results reinforced the driving performance findings.
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    Teen Driver Support System (TDSS) Field Operational Test
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2015-11) Creaser, Janet; Morris, Nichole L.; Edwards, Christopher; Manser, Michael; Cooper, Jennifer; Swanson, Brandy; Donath, Max
    Although teen drivers make up a small percentage of the U.S. driving population, they are at an especially high risk of being involved in a crash. Factors that contribute to teen drivers’ risk include their lack of experience and their tendency to engage in unsafe behaviors such as speeding, driving aggressively, or using a cell phone while behind the wheel. To help teen drivers stay safe on the road, we developed the Teen Driver Support System (TDSS), a smartphonebased system that provides real-time, in-vehicle feedback to teens about their risky behaviors—and reports the behaviors to parents via text message if teens don’t heed the system’s warnings. The TDSS provides geographically specific, realtime feedback to a teen driver at the time unsafe driving behavior occurs so that behaviors can be immediately corrected. This report documents a 12-month field operational test of the system involving 300 newly licensed teens driving on Minnesota roads. The test included a control group that received no feedback, a treatment group that received only TDSS in-vehicle feedback, and a second treatment group that received both TDSS in-vehicle and TDSS parental notifications. Research results indicate an overall safety benefit of TDSS, demonstrating that in-vehicle monitoring and driver alerts, coupled with parental notifications, is a meaningful intervention to reduce the frequency of risky driving behaviors that are correlated with novice teen driver crashes. In particular, the system was shown to be an effective strategy for reducing excessive speeds when used with parental feedback and potentially even without parental involvement.