The Effect of CEVMS on Driver Eye Glance Behavior ... - ITS Midwest

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Effect</strong> <strong>of</strong><strong>CEVMS</strong> on DriverEye Glance BehaviorA Presentation Stolen by:Kenneth Woodruff, Realty Officer,FHWA – Indiana Divisionfor theITS Midwest Meeting, October 8, 2009

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Effect</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>CEVMS</strong> on DriverEye Glance BehaviorThomas M. GrandaFHWASafety Research and Development2009 NAHBA Annual ConferenceBranson, MOAugust 10 – 11, 2009Federal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Overview• 2009 Update Reporthighlights• Study rationale• Study objectives• Major activities• Independent anddependent variables• Brief characteristics <strong>of</strong>routes, research vehicle,and data analysis• Revised scheduleFederal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Update Report Objectives• Identify and analyzeprior studies• Identify keyindependent anddependent variables• Develop alternateresearch strategies• Outline future researchprogram• Recommend study• Provide masterbibliographic listhttp://www.fhwa.dot.gov/realestate/cevms.htmFederal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Identify & Analyze Prior StudiesResearch Review• New studies, experiments,evaluations• New <strong>CEVMS</strong> technologiesReview literature by study type• Post-hoc crash studies• Field investigations• Laboratory investigations• Literature reviews• Reviews <strong>of</strong> practiceFederal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Independent VariablesSummary• 60 types & 185 subtypesSelected Types and Subtypes•<strong>CEVMS</strong>–Size, luminance, contrast, changerate•Roadway–Lanes, curves, intersections,traffic• Driver–Age, experience, route familiarity• Environment–Visual clutter, lighting, signageFederal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Dependent VariablesSummary• 65 types & 105 specific subtypesSelected Types and Subtypes• Vehicle– Speed, acceleration, and lane position– Headway, conflicts, errors, and gaps• Driver/vehicle interactions– Steering, throttle and braking• Driver attention/distraction– Eye glance, distracting task, and workload– Errors, reaction time, and search patterns• Crashes– Frequency and typeFederal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Develop Research Strategies• Crashes – field & lab• Safety surrogates – field– Unobtrusive observation– Naturalistic driving– On-road instrumentedvehicle– Closed course test track– Commentary driving• Safety surrogates – lab– Driving simulator– Non-simulator• Surveys & analytic studiesFederal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Rationale Behind Study DesignConflicting Results (Recent research studies)• 5 studies showed adverse effects on all measures• 1 study showed no adverse effects• 4 studies showed adverse effects on somemeasures and not on othersDeficient Methodologies in Earlier Studies• Insufficient measurement accuracy• Insufficient statistical powerFederal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Selected Study MethodologyOn-Road InstrumentedVehicle• High degree <strong>of</strong>experimental control• Efficient – high datarateEye Glance Measurements• Objective behavioralmeasure• Related to attentionand distraction, butnot the sameFederal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Fact <strong>of</strong> ResearchSingle StudyCannot AnswerAll QuestionsFederal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Determine whether:• Commercial ElectronicVariable Message Signs(<strong>CEVMS</strong>s) areassociated with longduration eye fixationswhich exceed acceptedsafety criteria• Presence <strong>of</strong> <strong>CEVMS</strong>schanges distribution <strong>of</strong>eye glancesStudy ObjectivesFederal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Major Study Activities• Site Selection and Vehicle Preparation• Site Preparation– Map routes– Identify and catalog objects• Participant Recruitment and Qualification• Data Collection Runs– 20 minute orientation with field research vehicle– Three 30-minute drives <strong>of</strong> route• Data Reduction– Manual, using s<strong>of</strong>tware tool• Data Analysis and ReportFederal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

• 2 LocationsIndependent Variables– Urban and suburban• 2 Routes per location• 3 Drives per participant(same route and time)• Drive Time– 4 daylight– 2 nightFederal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Selected Dependent Variables• Frequency & rate <strong>of</strong> eyeglances toward an object• Duration <strong>of</strong> eye glancestoward an object• Duration <strong>of</strong> eye glancestoward the road ahead• Frequency and type <strong>of</strong>potentially unsafe drivingbehaviors (safetysurrogate measures)Federal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Selected Measured Variables• Driver Characteristics(Non-Billboard)– Age, gender, familiaritywith route, drivingexperience• Weather• Route Characteristics– Traffic flow, accesscontrol, lane width,roadway configurationFederal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Selected Measured Variables• Location, orientation,distance from roadway(Billboard)• Size, height and spacingalong roadway• Average luminance andaverage contrast ratio• Message content• Change rate <strong>of</strong> <strong>CEVMS</strong>Federal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Characteristics <strong>of</strong> the Routes• Roughly 30-minuteduration• Mixtures <strong>of</strong> urban andsuburban areas• Combination <strong>of</strong> bothfreeway and non-freewayroadways• 5 to 7 <strong>CEVMS</strong>s per route• 5 to 7 SBBs per routeFederal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Selected Capabilities <strong>of</strong>Field Research Vehicle• Roadway ahead video(wide angle)• Eye tracking video(head and eye position)• Eye gaze data(1-2 degrees resolution)• 30 frames per second• Vehicle location (GPS)• Vehicle speed• Vehicle acceleration• Inputs for event markersFederal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Data Analysis DemonstrationFederal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Eye-Tracker 1.5 0 & 5 0 Visual Angles5 01.5 0Federal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Sample Raw DataFixationNumberEntryTimeExitTimeRoadAheadParkedCarDurationPedestrian1 0 1.42 1.42 PC2 1.42 1.58 0.16 PED3 1.58 2.63 1.05 RA4 2.63 3.58 0.95 PED5 3.58 4.71 1.13 PCFederal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Revised Schedule for ProjectTaskStart DateCompletionDateConduct pilot test August 2009 August 2009Collect data at first site August 2009 October 2009Collect data at second site November 2009 January 2010Write interim report on first site November 2009 December 2009Conduct data analysis August 2009 February 2010Prepare/deliver presentation atTRBSubmit final report/internalreviewDecember 2009 January 2010November 2009 March 2010Submit final report March 2010 April 2010Federal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Advantages <strong>of</strong> StudyMeasurement Accuracy• State <strong>of</strong> art eye trackingequipment• Non-intrusive gazemeasurements• Robust calibration andvalidation proceduresStatistical Power• 25 different <strong>CEVMS</strong> and25 different SBB• 96 research participants• 2 locationsFederal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation

Questions?Federal Highway AdministrationDepartment <strong>of</strong> Transportation