This chapter presents findings from a DRIVE I study of the special information needs of professional drivers. Its results are based mainly on qualitative semi-structured interviews with representatives of taxi, delivery van, bus and long-distance drivers in Athens and Oslo. The aim of the interviews was to obtain the information that professional drivers in these groups use to do their daily work, independent of technological solutions. The main types of information that they require, in order of priority, are: (1) basic information, connected with routine driving tasks and vital for safety; (2) regulatory information about laws and rules; (3) additional information leading to efficient and comfortable journeys; (4) service information about driving purpose and work. The information is obtained at the vehicle, trip, road, traffic, infrastructural, and cultural levels. The main working tasks of the drivers considered are: (1) loading and unloading; (2) new orders and new customers; and (3) address-linked tasks. Although many driver information systems, using new technology, are intended to facilitate provision of information inside a vehicle, some types of information, including most of the basic information, are less suitable for such presentation. In general, the presentation of different types of information may require different man-machine interface solutions.
Abstract