91 percent of volunteer drivers that tested V2V communications safety features indicated they would like to have these technologies on their personal vehicle.

An evaluation of Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) technologies at six test sites in the United States

Date Posted
08/24/2012
Identifier
2012-B00785
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Light Vehicle Driver Acceptance Clinics: Preliminary Results (Presentation)

Summary Information

This presentation highlighted preliminary findings from driver acceptance clinics conducted at six different cities in the United States to assess how motorists respond to connected vehicle technologies and benefit from in-vehicle alerts and warnings.

The main objectives of the project were to:

  • Obtain feedback on connected vehicle technology and safety applications from a representative sample of drivers.
  • Assess the performance and reliability of 5.9 GHz dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) and global positioning systems (GPS) in diverse geographic locations and environmental conditions.
  • Promote V2V-based safety technology and potential safety benefits.
Testing at the following test tracks was conducted from August 2011 to January 2012. Approximately 100 volunteer test drivers participated at each test site.
  • Michigan International Speedway - Brooklyn, MI (Aug 2011)
  • Brainerd International Raceway - Brainerd, MN (Sep 2011)
  • Walt Disney World Speedway - Orlando, FL (Oct 2011)
  • VTTI Smart Road - Blacksburg, VA (Nov 2011)
  • Texas Motor Speedway - Fort Worth, TX (Dec 2011)
  • Alameda Naval Air Station - Alameda, CA (Jan 2012)
Sixteen (16) test vehicles and eight backup vehicles from several manufacturers (Mercedes-Benz, GM, Toyota, Honda, Ford, Nissan, Hyundai-Kia, and Volkswagen) were equipped with one or more of the following functional applications designed to alert drivers using audible, visual, and haptic features.
  • Left Turn Assist (LTA)
  • Intersection Movement Assist (IMA)
  • Forward Collision Warning (FCW)
  • Emergency Electronic Brake Lights (EEBL)
  • Do Not Pass Warning (DNPW)
  • Blind Spot Warning/Lane Change Warning (BSW/LCW)

METHODOLOGY

After participants were exposed to each functional application, the experimenter asked a series of questions to capture data on immediate impressions, safety application effectiveness, and relevance of driver vehicle interface. In addition, 12 focus groups were conducted to evaluate experience. Each group was comprised of eight participants (for a total of 96) who had just completed the driving portion of the study.

FINDINGS

Focus groups were positive. In general, respondents agreed that saving a life or many lives, far outweighs the potential drawbacks of dependency, complacency, and over-reliance on the technology. The following table was derived from charts that detailed the percentage of respondents across all six test sites that reported a positive perception of the features tested with respect to desirability, usefulness, and intuitiveness.

 

 

% of Respondents that

Perceived Feature as Useful

% of Respondents that

Perceived Feature as Desirable

% of Respondents that

Perceive Feature as Intuitive

LTA

83.8% (n=173)

79.8% (n=173)

84.8% (n=171)

IMA

95.5% (n=685)

93.9% (n=685)

92.8% (n=685)

FCW

90.5% (n=686)

89.1% (n=682)

87.4% (n=683)

EEBL

91.4% (n=684)

89.2% (n=685)

91.1% (n=684)

DNPW

88.6% (n=254)

84.5% (n=252)

91.7% (n=253)

BSW/LCW

90.9% (n=683)

89.4% (n=682)

86.2% (n=679)



Detailed data collected from all six test sites indicated that:

  • 91 percent of respondents (620 of 684) agreed or strongly agreed that they would like to have the V2V communication safety feature on their personal vehicle. Out of the 10 percent that disagreed, about 2/3 of them were ages 20 to 30 and about 1/3 were ages 40 to 50.
  • 83.8 to 95.5 percent of respondents indicated that the safety features tested to alert drivers of specific threats would improve safety under real-world driving conditions.
  • 79.8 to 93.9 percent of respondents agreed that they would like to have a safety feature that alerted them of a specific threat on their personal vehicle.
  • 84.8 to 92.8 percent of respondents agreed that at least one of the safety features tested was effective at alerting them of the presence of a specific threat.
  • In general, most respondents believed that benefits would be noticeable if 70 percent or more of vehicles on the road were equipped with similar technology.
  • After experiencing the vehicle-to-vehicle safety features, none of the respondents indicated that they did not understand the technology nor did they not know how it worked.
  • More than half of the respondents indicated that a price level above $250 makes them feel that the collective group of safety applications is too expensive to consider purchasing.
  • 71.8 to 76.5 percent of respondents indicated that monitoring or interpreting information provided by the safety features was no more distracting than using their car radio.
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