Study on the effect of information provision of vics on elderly drivers' behavior - Analyzing the effect of information content on driving assistance and disaster event by using driving simulator

This study describes the effect of the information contents of driving assistance and disaster event based on Vehicle Information and Communication System (VICS) on elderly drivers' behavior. In the experiments, several prototypes of information contents were designed for two VICS services: one was the information service on prevention to misrecognize traffic signals at intersection, the other was the information service on probable area in which drivers encounter disaster event such as torrential rain or water-covered road. Driving simulator was used to examine elderly drivers' behavior and psychological aspect under the prototypes of the VICS services based on various parameters of information content. The drivers' behavior and the effect of the VICS service were evaluated in terms of driving performance, visual behavior, subjective reports, comparing elderly drivers with non-elderly drivers. The results show that particular VICS services do not always guide preparatory driver's action to approach intersection and elevate sense of vigilance against the disaster event. The VICS services are expected to improve driver safety by designing the HMI based on the results.