Exercise Caution When Incorporating Numeric Values into Visual Advanced Driver Assistance System Warnings.
Feedback from Participants in a Driving Simulator Study Sought to Understand the Factors That Impact Users’ Acceptance of an Adaptive Warning Monitoring System.
Munich, Germany
Drivers’ Acceptance of Adaptive Warning–Monitoring Systems. Findings From a Car Driving Simulator Study
Summary Information
Vehicles are increasingly equipped with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to assist drivers in maintaining safe driving behavior and improve overall road safety. Understanding users’ acceptance and perceptions toward these systems is crucial, especially in the context of developing or implementing additional assistance features. This study aimed to validate the factors impacting driver acceptance, such as the role of driving experience as an external variable. An advanced warning monitoring system was implemented in a driving simulator environment in Germany with 60 driver participants to assess what drives user acceptance, how external factors influence it, and whether the classical technology acceptance model (TAM) framework applies.
Lessons learned included the following:
- Exercise caution when incorporating numeric values into visual ADAS warnings. The study found that some drivers did not understand numeric indicators in pictograms (i.e., time-to-collision numbers) and preferred distance-based or simplified visual alerts. Warning clarity may require extended familiarization or revisions to interface design.
- Have a longer test phase so participants are further acquainted with the system’s different functionalities; instructing participants on the meaning of such warnings could allow them to better benefit from their usefulness, though it must be balanced against risks of evaluation bias and scenario predictability.
- Account for driver experience to boost ADAS acceptance. The study found driving experience can significantly impact the perceived ease of use of the adaptive in–vehicle warning monitoring system, and therefore accordingly its acceptance.
