Evaluating safety effects of in-vehicle information systems : a field experiment with traffic congestion information systems (RDS-TMC) and preliminary guidelines for IVIS

Describes an experiment aimed at assessing safety effects of in-vehicle information systems (IVIS) as caused by overload and distraction of the driver. In the experiment, twelve subjects drove on urban and rural roads. The urban part contained three instances of four common driving situations: turning right, negotiating general rule intersections, negotiating yield intersections, and driving straight ahead at major arteries. Safety was assessed with subjective ratings by a driving instructor and with objective measurements. The results are given, and a framework is presented for developing safety guidelines, safety and performance criteria are proposed, and ergonomic criteria are presented. Simple laboratory tests are described that might allow determining whether an IVIS is likely to affect safety due to overload and distraction.