This chapter deals with the human organism as a component in the traffic system. With other components relatively invariant over time, most of the burden of adaptation to the fast changing conditions in road traffic falls on the flexible human being. A brief review of driver characteristics is given, with an eye on those aspects of these characteristics that are to be formalised such that they can be implemented in a driver support system such as GIDS. This question returns in the subsequent two sections. The driver's task structure is first analysed in an attempt at converging on a task description that is computationally suitable. The relevant driver information needs are then specified, and the outcome of this analysis used to define driver workload. Special attention is given to the measurement of driver workload, and how workload can be quantified in such a way that it is possible to use it as an active variable in the GIDS system. For the covering abstract see IRRD 859107.
Abstract