[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 223 (Monday, November 20, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67203-67204]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-19562]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[NHTSA Docket No. NHTSA-2006-xxxx]


Meeting Notice; Forum on Human Factors Research Necessary To 
Support Advanced Vehicle Safety Technologies

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.

ACTION: Meeting notice.

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SUMMARY: NHTSA announces a Forum on Human Factors Research Necessary to 
Support Advanced Vehicle Safety Technologies to be held in Falls 
Church, Virginia. This notice announces the date, time and location of 
the forum, which will be open to the public with advanced registration 
on a space-available basis.

DATES: The forum will be held on January 25, 2007, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 
p.m. and continue on January 26, 2007 from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

ADDRESSES: The forum will be held at the Mitretek Systems Corporate 
Headquarters at 3150 Fairview Park Drive, Falls Church, VA 22042, 
telephone (202) 551-1112.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Perel, Office of Human Vehicle 
Performance Research, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 
400 Seventh Street, SW. Telephone number (202) 366-5675; e-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Advanced vehicle safety technologies (AVST), 
such as collision warning systems (CWS), can assist drivers in 
preventing crashes and minimizing harm. The controls, displays, and 
operation of AVST are fundamental elements that influence the safety 
effectiveness of these technologies. The ability of drivers to 
recognize, understand, and properly respond to the visual, auditory, 
and other feedback from these technologies is influenced by the degree 
to which their designs are compatible with drivers' capabilities. 
Proper designs will allow drivers to achieve the optimum safety 
benefit, whereas poor designs can limit or extinguish any advantage.
    The purpose of this forum is to identify human factors research to 
help guide the development and deployment of AVST that can improve 
safety and minimize potential adverse effects. A diverse group of human 
factors and vehicle safety experts are expected to participate. The 
forum participants will discuss the impact of current and future AVST 
on safety and driving performance, outline high priority areas for 
research, and identify organizations to sponsor the research.
    The primary focus of the forum will include current and emerging 
AVST systems such as those that provide only safety alerts (e.g., 
forward collision warning systems (FCW), road departure warning (RDCW), 
lane departure warning (LDW), intersection collision warning), systems 
that provide crash warning(s) and automated control (e.g., FCW combined 
with automatic braking), and other driver assistance systems that can 
impact safety (e.g., adaptive cruise control (ACC), brake assist, 
backover safety systems, and automatic lane keeping). This forum will 
not address driver workload or driver distraction issues associated 
with information and entertainment systems.
    Through a combination of presentations by invited speakers and 
group discussions among attendees, the forum participants will focus 
on:
     Identifying potential human factors safety problems.
     Determining safety-relevant metrics to quantify the 
problem.
     Determining research needs and identifying best practices 
and guidelines for system design and operation.
     Identifying stakeholders to sponsor and conduct research.
    Examples of potential human factors safety concerns that may be 
discussed at the forum include:
    Unintended Consequences: Drivers may react to the presence of AVST 
with behaviors that can undermine the potential effectiveness of the 
technologies. For example, drivers may not respond quickly enough to 
collision warnings if the system has false alarms or too many warnings. 
Even if the system is perfect, drivers may over-rely on the technology, 
increase their risk taking behaviors, and negate any potential safety 
benefits. Drivers may not understand the system's limitations and trust 
the system to a point where the system cannot perform to their 
expectations. For example, some systems only work within specified 
speed ranges or other limits, but drivers may expect the systems to 
perform at all speeds and in all conditions. Thus, unintended 
consequences could result from incorrect driver assumptions and 
perceptions about system operation.
    Design Characteristics: Another human factors concern is the 
variability in the design of these technologies within and across 
different vehicle manufacturers. As drivers change between vehicles 
with new or unfamiliar AVST characteristics or CWS interfaces, there is 
a potential for negative transfer of learning. That is, drivers may 
miss or not comprehend an auditory warning from System A because they 
are accustomed to the warning sound provided by System B.
    Driver-centered Design: The forum will also address the issue of 
how variations in driver performance should be accommodated by system 
design. Driver performance can vary from person to person, from 
situation to situation, and from time to time. For example, as a group, 
older drivers have poorer eyesight, slower reaction times, and a 
decreased ability to perform multiple tasks simultaneously. Drivers may 
respond differently in heavy traffic versus light traffic. Tired 
drivers may behave differently than alert drivers. The intended 
benefits of AVST may not be achieved unless the systems are designed to 
accommodate a broad range of the variability in the characteristics of 
the driving population. The safety concern is that some drivers may not 
detect warnings, respond appropriately, or turn off systems that are 
perceived as annoying or useless.
    Integrating Multiple Systems: Another forum topic will be the issue 
of integrated warnings from multiple systems. While integrated systems 
have the potential to prevent a large portion of crashes, they pose 
unique design issues (e.g., with what priority should the alarms be 
presented). The Department of Transportation (DOT) is conducting a 
large-scale field operational test called Integrated Vehicle-Based 
Safety Systems (IVBSS)

[[Page 67204]]

to better understand and evaluate some aspects of warning integration 
(http://www.its.dot.gov/ivbss/index.htm). However, more discussion is 
needed to fully address this emerging issue as increasing numbers of 
AVST are brought into vehicles.
    The meeting will be open to the public with advanced registration 
on a space-available basis. Individuals wishing to register must 
provide their name, affiliation, phone number, and e-mail address to 
Aretha Howard at Mitretek System at [email protected] or by 
phone at (202) 551-1112. The meeting will be held at a site accessible 
to individuals with disabilities. Individuals who require 
accommodations such as sign language interpreters should contact Mike 
Perel by January 15, 2007.
    A final agenda will be placed in the meeting docket at a later 
date. Meeting minutes and other information received by NHTSA at the 
forum also will be available in the meeting docket. Should it be 
necessary to cancel the meeting due to inclement weather or any other 
emergencies, a decision to cancel will be made as soon as possible and 
each registered participant will be notified by e-mail. If you do not 
have access to e-mail, you may contact Aretha Howard at Mitretek for 
additional information.

Draft Agenda

January 25, 2007

8 a.m. Registration
Overview/Introduction
8:30 a.m. Opening Remarks--NHTSA Administrator.
8:45 a.m. Meeting Background and Purpose.
Status of Advanced Vehicle Safety Technologies and Human Factors 
Guidelines
9 a.m. Review of current and future advanced vehicle safety 
technologies.
9:30 a.m. Review of existing global human factors guidelines for AVST.
10 a.m. Human factors research directions and future needs: Industry 
views.
10:30 a.m. Break.
10:45 a.m. Human factors research directions and future needs: 
Government views.
11:15 a.m. Human factors research directions and future needs: 
Researchers views.
11:45 a.m. Lunch.
Current NHTSA Initiatives
1 p.m. Crash warning system interfaces: Human factors insights and 
lessons learned--Battelle.
1:30 p.m. Integrated Vehicle Based Safety Systems (IVBSS): Crash 
Warning Integration Challenges--UMTRI.
1:45 p.m. Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance Systems--
Virginia Tech.
2 p.m. Other research.
2:15 p.m. Open Discussion (Entire Group).
3 p.m. Afternoon Break.
Future Research
3:15 p.m. Needed research and how do we make it happen?
3:30 p.m. Breakout group discussions: Research needs, methods, metrics, 
and funding mechanisms.
4:45 p.m. Summary of the Day and Next Steps. 5 p.m. Adjourn.

January 26, 2007

8:30 a.m. Complete breakout group discussions.
10 a.m. Review of breakout group recommendations.
11:30 a.m. Plenary group discussion.

    Issued on: November 13, 2006.
Joseph N. Kanianthra,
Associate Administrator for Vehicle Safety Research.
[FR Doc. E6-19562 Filed 11-17-06; 8:45 am]
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