Development of Human Factors Guidelines for Advanced Traveler Information Systems and Commercial Vehicle Operations: ATIS Function Transitions

The objective of the first experiment reported below was to measure the cognitive demands associated with transitioning across Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS) functions. This required the development of both objective and subjective indices of driver behavior and cognition. To accomplish this, a small number of pre-drive trip scenarios that invoke appropriate transitions across ATIS functions were developed. Driving performance under more representative conditions was investigated in experiment 2 using a driving simulator. This study investigated several issues on the influence of an ATIS on driving behavior. The questions asked were: 1. How does a moving map display of the current vehicle location influence driving performance? 2. How do ATIS control inputs influence driving performance? Should they be allocated to pre-drive? Is it too much to expect the driver to do while in transit? 3. Do ATIS messages affect drivers' reactions to roadway events? 4. Does message potency affect drivers' reactions to roadway events? Overall, the two experiments reported here suggest that in-vehicle ATIS devices can be learned, understood, and successfully used by drivers for both pre-drive trip planning tasks and on-road driving conditions. ATIS devices have the potential to improve driver compliance to regulatory information, as compared with standard roadside signs. While concurrent visual and auditory ATIS alert messages may be beneficial, the visual ATIS messages alone are significantly better than roadside signage alone. While cognitive demands associated with ATIS transitions and ATIS complexity should continue to be a concern, these demands can be addressed by selecting ATIS functions with clear benefits to the driving task.