Speeding is a major problem on roadways in the United States contributing to thousands of deaths each year and increasing injury severity when a crash is survived. In 2012, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that “speeding was a contributing factor in 30 percent of all fatal crashes, and 10,219 lives were lost in speeding-related crashes” (NHTSA, 2014). Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) using an Active Accelerator Pedal (AAP) represents a promising approach to reduce speeding (e.g., Schulman, 2005, Varhelyi & Makinen, 2001; Warner & Aberg, 2008). When driving a vehicle equipped with this AAP, drivers experience added accelerator pedal resistance (haptic feedback) when they exceed a pre-set speed (e.g., the speed limit). The AAP can impose a differential force schedule to the accelerator pedal as a function of the extent of the driver’s speeding. Although drivers can easily and safely override the system by pressing harder (e.g., to pass, to avoid a crash), the concept of the AAP is that it is uncomfortable to maintain an override for sustained periods of time. The added force also represents a cue to the driver that he or she has exceeded the speed limit. The specific objective was to determine whether the use of a haptic AAP system that linked the speed of the vehicle and the speed limits of the road upon which the vehicle traveled could reduce speeding by young drivers in a wide range of speed limit zones. The study consisted of two main portions. The first focused on the development of an appropriate AAP and data logging system as well as equipping 2 vehicles with the systems. The second portion of the study involved data collection using the developed systems and the analysis of the resulting data. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting