The University of Waikato's Traffic and Road Safety Research Group (TARS) was founded in 1993. Since then, the capabilities and research output of TARS have grown steadily, developing good relationships with industry, governmental, and regulatory end users in the transport and road safety communities. Currently, in a government funded project, TARS researchers are employing advanced driving simulator techniques and instrumented vehicles in order to develop human factors models characterising driving performance and decision-making in various driving situations. Fatigue and Fitness for Duty in NZ Truck Drivers is another current project funded by Road Safety Trust. Using a portable driving simulator installed in a caravan, volunteer truck drivers are asked to complete a brief survey and take a diagnostic driving fatigue test at rest stops, depots, and cargo terminals throughout the day and night. Another TARS project involves teaching novice drivers appropriate eye scanning while negotiating curves. By using sophisticated eye tracking equipment, TARS researchers can detect and correct inappropriate looking behaviours in a safe environment of a driving simulator and in real traffic situations. For the covering abstract see ITRD E113725 (C 22328 CD-ROM).
Samenvatting