As a great portion of fatal accidents is caused by road departures, numerous systems for lateral control have been developed. These systems possess different functionalities, like warning the driver if he tends to depart from the lane or adding a steering torque to reduce the necessity for small steering corrections. To overcome some disadvantages of the classical systems and to develop a system for emergency situations, the knowledge of behavioural principles was utilised. A system based on reflexes has the potential of eliciting reactions reliably and quickly. In a simulator study, the principle was examined and different adjustments of the stimulus used to elicit target behaviour were tested. Subjective and objective data were collected. Results show that the participants trusted the system and perceived it as a valuable contribution to traffic safety. Objective data, like steering angle and measures of lateral position, were analysed and three different types of elicited reactions could be identified. Reaction time,reaction strength and a number of other measures were calculated for each type of reaction. The results confirmed that the system elicits reflexive reactions with very short delays, thus showing its potential for avoiding severe accidents. (Author/publisher).
Abstract