Effects of intelligent cruise control on driving behaviour : a simulator study
report
A driving simulator experiment was carried out to assess the effects of Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC) on driving behaviour. ICC is an in-vehicle system that automatically regulates a vehicle's speed and that is also capable of maintaining a proper following distance behind a lead vehicle. ICCs can only realize a moderate level of deceleration: in situations that require hard braking, the driver must take over control.
Two types of ICC were used: one where the subject had tofoot on the gas pedal while ICC was activated, and one where this was not necessary. During the experiment, subjects were confronted with several scenarios, varying from normal to critical. The main questions were: first, is there a difference between these ICC types in terms of acceptance and of reaction in critical situations, and second, when do subjects switch the ICC on and off with respect to the driving situation. The results showed that ICC yields more consistent longitudinal control: in car-follow-ing situations, there is less variation in headway and in speed. It also appeared that when driving with ICC, subjects select a lower free-driving speed compared to their driving speed in the same scenario without ICC. In the critical scenarios where the subject had to take over control from the ICC, a later reaction was found especially in the first runs of the experiment. There was no difference between the foot-on-gas and the foot-off-gas ICC types in terms of driving behaviour. Thaviour. The questionnaire results, however, showed that subjects were highly in favour of the foot-off-gas type ICC, even though the overall judgements of both ICC types were positive.
Two types of ICC were used: one where the subject had tofoot on the gas pedal while ICC was activated, and one where this was not necessary. During the experiment, subjects were confronted with several scenarios, varying from normal to critical. The main questions were: first, is there a difference between these ICC types in terms of acceptance and of reaction in critical situations, and second, when do subjects switch the ICC on and off with respect to the driving situation. The results showed that ICC yields more consistent longitudinal control: in car-follow-ing situations, there is less variation in headway and in speed. It also appeared that when driving with ICC, subjects select a lower free-driving speed compared to their driving speed in the same scenario without ICC. In the critical scenarios where the subject had to take over control from the ICC, a later reaction was found especially in the first runs of the experiment. There was no difference between the foot-on-gas and the foot-off-gas ICC types in terms of driving behaviour. Thaviour. The questionnaire results, however, showed that subjects were highly in favour of the foot-off-gas type ICC, even though the overall judgements of both ICC types were positive.
TNO Identifier
8431
Publisher
TNO
Place of publication
Soesterberg
Files