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Development of Human Factors Guidelines for Advanced Traveler Information Systems and Commercial Vehicle Operations: The Effects of Inaccurate Traffic Information on Driver Behavior and Acceptance of an Advanced In-Vehicle Traveler Information System

Publication Number: FHWA-RD-96-145
Date: February 1998

Development of Human Factors Guidelines for Advanced Traveler Information Systems and Commercial Vehicle Operations: The Effects of Inaccurate Traffic Information on Driver Behavior and Acceptance of an Advanced In-Vehicle Traveler Information System

FOREWORD

This report is one of a series reports produced as part of a contract designed to develop precise, detailed human factors design guidelines for Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) and Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO). The contractual effort consists of three phases: analytic, empirical, and integration. This report is a product of the empirical phase. The empirical phase will also address topics such as: ATIS function transition, display channels, multi–modality displays, CVO driver fatigue, display formats and workload, and head–up displays. Among the analytic topics discussed in the series are functional description of ATIS/CVO, comparable systems analysis, task analysis of ATIS/CVO functions, alternate systems analysis, identification and exploration of driver acceptance, and definition and prioritization of research studies.

This study is part of the empirical phase of this ATIS/CVO guidelines development effort and is one of a series of investigations designed to provide supporting rationale for the in–vehicle design guidelines. The research reported in this document investigated the effects of varying information accuracy regarding traffic conditions, in both familiar and unfamiliar traffic networks, on driver performance, use and acceptance of in–vehicle information systems.

Copies of this report can be obtained through the Research and Technology Report Center, 9701 Philadelphia Court, Unit Q, Lanham, Maryland 20706, telephone: (301) 577–0818, fax: (301) 577–1421, or the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia 22161, telephone: (703) 487–4650, fax: (703) 321–8547.

A. George Ostensen, Director
Office of Safety and Traffic
Operations Research and Development

NOTICE

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its content or use thereof. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.

The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade and manufacturers' names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the object of the document.

TECHNICAL REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE

1. Report No. FHWA–RD–96–145	2. Government Accession No.	3. Recipient's Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN FACTORS GUIDELINES FOR ADVANCED TRAVELER INFORMATION SYSTEMS (ATIS) AND COMMERCIAL VEHICLE OPERATIONS (CVO): THE EFFECTS OF INACCURATE TRAFFIC INFORMATION ON DRIVER BEHAVIOR AND ACCEPTANCE OF AN ADVANCED IN-VEHICLE TRAVELER INFORMATION SYSTEM		5. Report Date February 1998
7. Author(s) B.H. Kantowitz, R.J. Hanowski, & S.C. Kantowitz		8. Performing Organization Report No.
9. Performing Organization Name and Address Battelle Human Factors Transportation Center 4000 41st Street NE Seattle, Washington 98105		10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) 3B2C1012
		11. Contract or Grant No. DTFH61–92–C–00102
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Office of Safety and Traffic Operations R&D Federal Highway Administration 6300 Georgetown Pike McLean, VA 22101–2296		13. Type of Report and Period Covered TECHNICAL REPORT February 1995 – November 1996
		14. Sponsoring Agency Code
15. Supplementary Notes Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR): Joe Moyer, HSR–30, Thomas Granda, SAIC
16. Abstract The document type of resource materials. How reliable must traffic information be for motorists to trust and accept such advice? This study provides data to aid the designer of Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) in selecting an appropriate level of system accuracy. The Battelle Route Guidance Simulator was used to study: (1) the effects of information accuracy, and (2) familiarity of the driving environment on objective and subjective indices of driver performance and opinion. The simulator provided real-time information and traffic video. Information was either 100 percent, 71 percent, or 43 percent accurate. Drivers experienced either Seattle and its environs or an artificial setting that was topologically matched to Seattle. Results showed that while 100 percent accurate information yielded best driver performance and subjective opinion, information that was 71 percent accurate was still accepted and used. But information that was 43 percent accurate produced powerful decrements in performance and opinion. Simulated ATIS information was not used as effectively in the familiar Seattle setting. Driver trust decreased with inaccurate information but recovered, although not always fully, with subsequent accurate information.
17. Key Words ATIS, ITS, Traffic Information, Trust		18. Distribution Statement No restrictions. This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia, 22161.
19. Security Classif. (of this report) Unclassified	20. Security Classif. (of this page) Unclassified	21. No. of Pages 27	22. Price