Information, communication, and navigation devices need to be evaluated for ease-of-use and safety while driving. Lab tests, if validated, can evaluate prototype designs faster, more economically, and earlier than on-roadtests. The Static Load Test was evaluated for its ability to predict on-road driver performance while using in-vehicle devices. In this test, participants perform various in-vehicle tasks in a lab while viewing a videotaped road scene on a monitor, tapping a brake pedal when a central or peripheral light is observed. For the on-road comparison test, the device, tasks, and lights are the same, but the participants also drive the vehicle while performing the tasks and responding to the lights. In both the lab and road tests, ten driver performance variables were measured. The authors' goal was to produce a linear model to predict an on-road variable from the lab data with low residual error, high percent variance explained, and fewerrors in classifying tasks as meeting or not meeting on-road driver performance criteria. Separate test data from a replicated Static Load Test atan independent lab were used to further validate the models. The results indicate a simple, inexpensive, and low-fidelity Static Load Test can accurately predict a number of on-road driver performance variables suitable for assessing the safety and ease-of-use of advanced in-vehicle devices while driving.
Abstract