title: Aging and the impact of distraction on an intersection crossing assist system.
abstract: It is known that distraction reduces the benefits of collision avoidance systems by slowing a driver's response. The current study examined the impact of a drivers' use of an in-vehicle intersection crossing assist system under demanding cognitive load conditions. Forty eight drivers crossed a busy rural intersection in a simulated environment while completing four blocks of trials, in half of which they used the assist system and engaged in a working memory task. Participants were dichotomized into older and younger age groups. The results showed a tendency towards conservative driving in a single-task condition when only using the assist system. A similar shift in driving style was observed when drivers crossed the intersection while engaged in a secondary task. Using the in-vehicle intersection crossing assist system under cognitively demanding conditions did not result in adverse consequences-the impact of distraction was different compared to a typical collision avoidance system. Older drivers showed some evidence of more conservative intersection crossing, however they also appeared to rely more on the in-vehicle assist system when presented with an extraneous additional task.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States. ebecic@gmail.com
authors.forename: Ensar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Becic
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manser
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Drucker
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Donath
mesh_terms: D000056:Accident Prevention / Q000295:instrumentation*; D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001288:Attention; D001334:Automobile Driving; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016138:Walking