Daniele Ruscio

Distraction or cognitive overload? Using modulations of the autonomic nervous system to discriminate the possible negative effects of advanced assistance system

The interaction with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems has several positive implications for road safety, but also some potential downsides such as mental workload and automation complacency. Malleable attentional resources allocation theory describes two possible processes that can generate workload in interaction with advanced assisting devices. The purpose of the present study is to determine if specific analysis of the different modalities of autonomic control of nervous system can be used to discriminate different potential workload processes generated during assisted-driving tasks and automation complacency situations. Thirty-five drivers were tested in a virtual scenario while using head-up advanced warning assistance system. Repeated MANOVA were used to examine changes in autonomic activity across a combination of different user interactions generated by the advanced assistance system: (1) expected take-over request without anticipatory warning; (2) expected take-over request with two-second anticipatory warning; (3) unexpected take-over request with misleading warning; (4) unexpected take-over request without warning. Results shows that analysis of autonomic modulations can discriminate two different resources allocation processes, related to different behavioral performances. The users interaction that required divided attention under expected situations produced performance enhancement and reciprocally-coupled parasympathetic inhibition with sympathetic activity. At the same time, supervising interactions that generated automation complacency were described specifically by uncoupled sympathetic activation. Safety implications for automated assistance systems developments are considered.

Simulating real danger?: validation of driving simulator test and psychological factors in brake response time to danger

The aim of the present research is to study the role of human factor during the use of driving simulator for a specific driving ability: brake response time. In particular I intend to a) study the influence of interaction with virtual simulation on driving response to hazard, and b) validate a virtual driving test with external data from real life driving. I conducted a study on a real car, measuring the response time for this specific driving task and I want to compare the response to the same conditions on a driving simulator, in order to better understand the psychological factors that can influence the brake time response. Furthermore the data will give some specific information for developing validated virtual simulations that can be used for training and infrastructure design.

What Driving Abilities Do Racing Video Games Stimulate? Rating the Levels of Realism Experienced in Commercial Racing Video Games

The relationship between racing video games and road accidents is producing relevant research, but there are no studies (or game-content rating systems) that analyze the quality of the driving experience in video games. The aim of the present research is to propose a taxonomy of the driving experience content, to evaluate and cluster the realism of the driving experience created by different racing video game. A selection of 11 commercial video games, previously considered in safety researches, was used to build and test a Driving Experience Analysis – Rating Grid (DEA-RG). Levels of “environmental realism”, “driving realism” and “accident realism” were assessed. DEA-RG scores showed that different categories of racing games generate very different user’s experiences in driving simulations, with mixed levels of realism even within game-categories previously considered as homogenous. Implications for video game developers and road-safety researchers are discussed, for more systematic research hypothesis.

Does the Familiarity of Road Regulation Contribute to Driving Violation? A Simulated Study on Familiar and Unfamiliar Road Intersections among Young Chinese Drivers

Road accidents represent the primary cause of death among young drivers. To understand the emerging issue of young drivers’ involvement in traffic accidents abroad, risk-taking behaviors were investigated in familiar and unfamiliar driving situations. Twenty-two young Chinese drivers completed a road regulation test followed by a simulated test drive. The number of traffic violations and accidents in familiar and unfamiliar driving intersections were correlated to road regulation knowledge, risk perception scores and to self-assessment of driving skills. Significant number of mistakes was found in risk-taking situations, regardless of the familiarity of the situation, especially for drivers that presented high ratings of self-assessed driving skills. Results show that risk-taking behaviors while driving in unfamiliar conditions are mediated by psychological factors, like self-assessment of being a good driver, more than the actual knowledge of road regulation rules. Implications for international driving can be considered for future research development.