S. Thoma, G. Klinker, T. Lindberg Evaluation of a generic warning for multiple intersection assistance systems On the occasion of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Europe Chapter Annual Meeting in Soesterberg, The Netherlands, October 2008. (bib)
	Intersections are still accident hotspots and thus the development of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) is promoted within the scope of research projects like PReVENT? INTERSAFE and Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) . Many of these future assistance systems follow the classic warning scheme that is already implemented in present ADAS, like forward and side collision warning systems where the driver’s attention is directed to the source of the threat by presenting a visual/acoustical alert that might be combined with a haptic feedback. Even with only these two functions implemented in a vehicle, it is a challenge to avoid unwanted side effects due to inconsistent or simultaneous warning messages. Intersection assistance, with its large number of additional warning systems, will increase the demand for integration and prioritization of ADAS information even further. Introducing a “master alert,” like that used in aviation, might be an approach to simplify warning management within a car, where multiple warning systems share a common warning scheme. This avoids the need to prioritize different warning systems but also imposes the interpretation of the warning within the current driving context on the driver. To verify that the loss of distinguishability of visual alerts when using a master alert has no negative effect on driving performance, two video scenario experiments were conducted in a driving simulator. In both experiments, videos of a normal urban traffic environment that ended with a critical situation at an intersection were presented. In the first experiment (N=60), comprehension of the cause of the warning was compared under the two conditions, master alert and specific warnings. In the second experiment (N=40), reaction time was measured by allowing the subjects to freeze the video with the brake pedal.
	This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each authors copyright. In most cases, these works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.