A wide range of advanced technologies are currently being introduced into production automobiles that are intended to increase safety and comfort. If effectively implemented, some of these advanced technologies also offer the possibility of reducing driver stress. This study employed heart rate as an objective physiological arousal measure along with more traditional self-report ratings to evaluate the extent to which two recently introduced technologies impact driver stress levels. The technologies evaluated were a semi-autonomous system for parallel parking that detects appropriately sized parking spaces and actively steers the vehicle into the parking space while the driver controls the throttle and brake and a cross traffic warning system designed to alert drivers of encroaching vehicles when backing out of parking spaces. Two separate samples of 42 participants each were employed in the analysis and each sample consisted of three gender balanced age groups (20-29, 40-49 and 60-69). In both experiments, each participant experienced multiple exposures to the parking manoeuvre with and without the technology (within subject design). After becoming familiar with the technology, participants rated their stress levels significantly lower when using the assistive parallel parking technology (p = .025) and physiological recordings showed an average heart rate 12.6 beats per minute lower (p < .001) providing confirmation of a lower state of arousal. These findings were consistent across gender and age groups. Mean self-report and heart rate data were suggestive of some reduction in stress levels with the cross traffic warning system, although these differences were not statistically significant (p > .05). It was observed that drivers were more likely to appropriately stop and yield to an approaching vehicle during trials when the cross traffic alert system was active, potentially reducing the likelihood of accidents. While ratings of the systems were generally positive, some individuals experienced issues with the technologies. Additional analysis of self-report data and subgroups within the data study sample is ongoing. Developing a more complete understanding of why some individuals have issues interacting with these types of new technologies may provide important insight into how further gains in technology adoption and stress reduction can be obtained. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting