Blackspot
Emir Kadric (2023) coached by Marieke Martens
Description
Inattention is a serious threat to road safety. In traffic, there are intersections that require extra attention due to a high frequency of accidents. These spots are referred to as blackspots. An effective way to reduce inattention at blackspot intersections could be by adopting an active scan pattern. This could be achieved through systems providing visual and haptic feedback. Therefore, this study researched whether the effect of haptic, visual and combined haptic and visual feedback systems would stimulate drivers to adopt an active scan pattern compared to scenarios without feedback systems at blackspot intersections. For the active scan pattern the head turn frequency was used as a measurement. The user test was done in a driver simulation provided by the TU/e Future Mobility Squad. The simulation resembles a car with manual transmission. Three screens resemble the point of view from the front windscreen and the side windows. The 4 most accident-prone blackspot intersections in Eindhoven were used for the different scenarios. The results suggest that a combined haptic and visual feedback system had the best result on achieving an active scan pattern. Furthermore, from the interviews with the users a high request would be to have a customizable system to meet their needs.
