ITS – driver distraction issues

A vehicle communication system is using pedestrians’ smartphones to alert drivers when they could be crossing paths. The system – developed by Mazda and the University of Tokyo – has already been trialled on tram communication systems in Japan. University professor Takayuki Hirasawa showed a video demonstrating the system, which exchanges information about location, speed and trajectory at the Asia-Pacific’s ITS forum in Auckland. In one example, a car turned blind right across a tram track. When the driver stopped and turned on his indicator, the car detected the approaching tram and generated a heads-up display, which included a dash alert. Meanwhile, the tram received similar information and informed the driver the car has stopped so it could safely continue. “The ATS system proves car and tram are safer when equipped with autonomous sensors that communicate in areas where they share the road,” said Hirasawa. “We’re also finding safety is increased by a system using smartphones that communicates with cars and pedestrians.” One delegate raised concerns about driver distraction, which could be caused from additional alerts. “We know people get confused when they get too many signals coming in, so we’re probably going to see the television effect when everybody goes to look at their consoles instead of what’s happening outside,” the delegate said. “I would like to see more of that type of research done. We see lots of gadgets, but what’s interesting is the human interaction with them when we go for compulsory deployment of some systems.”