Knowledge Resources

The objective of this study was to characterize driver steering responses to lane departure warnings (LDW). An UMTRI fixed-base driving simulator equipped with a fully functional Nissan Versa sedan chassis was used to evaluate the driving behavior of 37 licensed drivers (19 male, 18 female).

The driving simulation involved one initial practice drive in which the different LDW treatments were demonstrated. This was followed by three, 12-minute experimental drives over the same 10-mile segment of roadway. Within each drive, a different LDW treatment condition was investigated: a baseline drive with no active LDW; a drive with the audible LDW; and a drive with a tactile non-directional steering vibration LDW. The simulator projected a driving scene onto three forward screens that spanned a 120-deg field of view, and one rear-view screen spanning a 40-deg field of view. The simulated roadway was a 10-mile rural two-lane roadway with a posted limit of about 55 mi/hr. During each session drivers were asked to perform a distracting secondary task while their vehicles were occasionally pushed to the side of the roadway to encourage lane departures.