Driver Adaptation to Information and Assistance Systems

Driver information and assistance systems have emerged as an integral part of modern road vehicles in order to support the driver while driving. They make use of the newest information technologies in order to enhance driver awareness, safety and comfort, and thereby avoiding driver errors and accidents. Driver Adaptation to Information and Assistance Systems brings together recent work by the Marie-Curie Initial Training Network ADAPTATION. The project has studied drivers' behavioural adaptation to these new technologies from an integrative perspective working under a joint conceptual theoretical framework of behavioural adaptation that can be used to generate research hypotheses about how drivers will adapt to information and assistance systems and to derive guidelines for the design and deployment of such systems.

The book aims to provide the reader with a better understanding of drivers' adaptation processes over time in response to information and assistance system use at different levels (energetic, cognitive and motivational levels); an appreciation of the impact of specificities of drivers population on technology use and skill acquisition; insights on the effects of system functionality, design and reliability as important system characteristics influencing drivers' adaptation; and recommendations on research methods and appropriate tools to investigate adaptation processes.

Alan Stevens is Chief Research Scientist and Research Director, Transportation, at the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), in the UK, where he has been working on the application of new technology to transport for 25 years. He is an internationally recognised expert in human-machine interaction (HMI) in the driving environment and his consultancy activities focus on providing advice on policy and interoperability issues to Government, developing research programs and carrying out specific technical and human factors studies in Intelligent Transport Systems. He is Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Intelligent Transport Systems.

Corinne Brusque is Research Manager and Scientific Director in charge of evaluation at Ifsttar (French Institute of Science and Technology for Transport, Development and Networks). Her main research topics concern the factors affecting in-vehicle technology adoption, drivers' exposure to distraction related to in-vehicle technologies and the impact of in-vehicle technologies on drivers' behaviour.

Josef Krems is Professor of Cognitive and Industrial Psychology at Chemnitz University of Technology. His current research projects focus on three areas: traffic and transport (safety, driver assistance, green driving and sustainability); human factors (human-machine interaction, usability); and user acceptance.