Realtime Technologies News

It’s become abundantly clear that, as vehicles themselves become more capable of taking on routine driving tasks, human factors research has become even more critical for roadway safety. An increasing number of “autonomous” and ADAS-Enhanced (advanced driver-assistance system) vehicles are entering the market and joining us on roadways. Unfortunately, surveys have found that roughly half … Continued

It’s generally accepted that “speed kills.” Urban or rural, single vehicle or multi-vehicle, with or without pedestrians: both the risk of a crash and the severity of that crash increases with speed. What we don’t understand is the interplay of speed, aggressiveness, and time pressure. Advanced immersive simulators are making it possible for driving research … Continued

Even as driver’s education has become more comprehensive and rules around driving for young adults more stringent, the rate of serious accidents is still quite high. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, new teen drivers are three times more likely to be involved in a deadly crash than more experienced drivers. Driver distraction … Continued

We all know that distracted driving is dangerous. One popular (and extremely hard to source) “fact” often attributed to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is that “texting and driving is six times more dangerous than drunk driving.” And even if that isn’t an actual demonstrable fact, it certainly feels right. Many U.S. agencies … Continued

Rear-end collisions account for approximately 28% of all collisions. Multiple studies have demonstrated that forward roadway collision systems show a great deal of promise in reducing such crashes. For example, with experienced and older drivers, even relatively unobtrusive SAE Level 1 ADAS forward roadway collision systems have been shown to lead to shorter reaction times, … Continued

A recent article in the New York Times highlighted “a growing number of crashes involving [Tesla’s] Autopilot that have fueled concerns about the technology’s shortcomings.” This is calling into question the speed with which automakers are developing and deploying new ADAS (advanced driver-assistance system) features. These concerns should be guiding driver research. But, to date, … Continued

Each year roughly 1 million people are arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. For the past ten years alcohol has played a role in roughly 30% of all traffic-related deaths in the United States. Concerted marketing and law enforcement efforts to reduce drunk driving through the 1990s were remarkably successful. But in the … Continued

  To error is human—especially behind the wheel. According to government estimates and existing driving research, roughly 94% of all auto accidents result from driver error. Autonomous vehicles offer an important opportunity to reduce human error behind the wheel. But as we’ve seen over the last several years, the rise in autonomous driving systems has … Continued

  Human factors research is keenly interested in what’s happening in the brain of distracted drivers while texting or using GPS apps. Roughly 4,000 people are killed each year by distracted driving and another 390,000 injured. By some estimates, one-quarter of all U.S. car accidents are caused by someone texting and driving. Previous research has … Continued

  In a previous post, we discussed the three most widely recognized theories about simulation sickness (and their scenario design implications) in detail. In general, these older understandings of what causes simulation sickness tend to argue that we must remove or attenuate motion signals in our simulations to prevent discomfort. The “Rest-Frame Hypothesis” is a … Continued