Behavioural adaptations to driver support systems: A modelling and road safety perspective

The design and implementation of new technologies dedicated to driver support and information management systems is the crucial transformation that has taken place in the field of automotive environment. While the development of these new systems has found a variety of sound and effective solutions, a number of fundamental questions and issues remain to be tackled and solved with respect to the consequences that such new technologies have on driver activity. In particular, a major concern is on "behavioural adaptation" and on the possible impact that this may play on the driving performance and ultimately on overall road safety. Within the European Project Adaptive Integrated Driver-vehicle InterfacE (AIDE), a specific research activity is dedicated (1) to the identification of crucial behavioural adaptation aspects associated with the use of new driver support systems and (2) of the specification of most relevant parameters that can be implemented in models for supporting design and safety assessment processes. This paper describes the results of a set of experiments carried out on a number of specific driving support systems and their results in terms of observed behavioural adaptation. These results will be imbedded in modelling architecture that enables to predict driver-vehicle- environment interactions in different dynamic conditions. Such model is also described in some details for what concerns the model characteristics and main parameters. © 2007 Springer-Verlag London Limited.