FHWA-RD-99-132

DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN FACTORS GUIDELINES FOR
ADVANCED TRAVELER INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND
COMMERCIAL VEHICLE OPERATIONS

ON-ROAD EVALUATION OF ATIS MESSAGES

Publication No. FHWA-RD-99-132
March 1998

FOREWORD

This report is one of a series of reports produced as part of a contract designed to develop precise, detailed human factors design guidelines for Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) and Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO). The contractual effort consists of three phases: analytic, empirical, and integration. This report is a product of the empirical phase. The empirical phase will also address topics such as: ATIS function transition, display channels, multi-modality displays, CVO driver fatigue, display formats and workload, and head-up displays. Among the analytic topics discussed in the series are functional description of ATIS/CVO, comparable systems analysis, task analysis of ATIS/CVO functions, alternate systems analysis, identification and exploration of driver acceptance, and definition and prioritization of research studies.

This report documents a study that was performed to determine how ATIS information, primarily In-Vehicle Signing and Information Systems (ISIS) and In-Vehicle Safety Advisory and Warning Systems (IVSAWS), influences driver behavior. The objective was to develop design guidelines to define the amount and format of information that can safely be displayed in an ATIS.

Copies of this report can be obtained through the Research and Technology Report Center, 9701 Philadelphia Court, Unit Q, Lanham, Maryland 20706, telephone: (301) 577-0818, fax: (301) 577-1421, or the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia 22161, telephone: (703) 605-6000, fax: (703) 605-6900.

Michael F. Trentacoste
Director, Office of Safety
Research and Development

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Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No. FHWA-RD-99-132	2. Government Accession No.	3. Recipient's Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle ADVANCED TRAVELER INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND COMMERCIAL VEHICLE OPERATIONS COMPONENTS OF THE INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS: ON-ROAD EVALUATION OF ATIS MESSAGES		5. Report Date March 20, 1998
		6. Performing Organization Code
7. Author(s) B.H. Kantowitz, B.L. Hooey, & O. Simsek		8. Performing Organization Report No.
9. Performing Organization Name and Address Battelle Human Factors Transportation Center 4000 NE 41st Street P.O. Box 5395 Seattle, WA 98105-0395		10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) 3B2C1012
		11. Contract or Grant No. DTFH61-92-C-00102
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Office of Safety and Traffic Operations R&D Federal Highway Administration 6300 Georgetown Pike McLean, VA 22101-2296		13. Type of Report and Period Covered Technical Report July 1996 - July 1997
		14. Sponsoring Agency Code
15. Supplementary Notes Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR): M. Joseph Moyer, HRDS; Thomas M. Granda, HRDS (formerly with SAIC)
16. Abstract This report describes the results of an on-road study that examined how Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) information influences driver behavior. The objective of the study was to develop ATIS design guidelines, primarily for In-Vehicle Signing Information Systems (ISIS) and In-Vehicle Safety Advisory and Warning Systems (IVSAWS), to define the amount and format of information that can safely be displayed in an ATIS. A general issue facing ATIS designers is to determine how much information can safely be presented in an ATIS. This study investigated rates of one, two, or three message presentations per minute. No effects of information density were observed on driving performance. Another general issue that faces ATIS designers is how message potency (i.e. message style and display modality) affects driving safety and compliance with ATIS messages. Message potency is shown to have an important effect on both compliance and driving safety, confirming previous findings on how particular ATIS design characteristics can undermine driving safety by fostering an over-reliance on ATIS information. Also investigated in this study was whether advance notification messages that warn drivers of upcoming route guidance instructions are helpful. The results show that the drivers make use of advance notification messages to prepare for upcoming turns.
17. Key Words ATIS, ITS, ISIS, IVSAWS, ATIS design guidelines.		18. Distribution Statement No restrictions. This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia, 22161.
19. Security Classif. (of this report) Unclassified	20. Security Classif. (of this page) Unclassified	21. No. of Pages 98	22. Price

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