Understanding the information conveyed by symbols is extremely important from the point of view of road safety. The symbols used on road signs and integrated into the vehicle must be clear and legible. This is especially important given the lack of regulations and standardization in the field of modern driving automation systems. Manufacturers are allowed to choose the way of informing the driver about the need to intervene in a situation when the vehicle is unable to continue driving in automated mode. The authors proposed to assess the comprehension of the information displayed by several different icons used to inform the driver about the need to take control. For this purpose, they used the adapted ISO 9186 Comprehension Test. The research was carried out on two different groups of drivers—passenger car drivers and professional bus drivers. A total of nine different pictograms were tested. The results indicate that drivers associate the red color with information about danger. The same icon in different colors may have a different effect on drivers, often leading to wrong responses.

The paper presents a proposed methodology for designing and planning research on driver behavior at pedestrian crossings using whole-vehicle simulators. It was assumed that dedicated research should be conducted in specific problem contexts. The problems identified were the identification of hazards and the risk of accidents involving vulnerable road users. The purpose of this identification is to determine the determinants of safety at pedestrian crossings, which should constitute guidance when designing new solutions for safety support systems at pedestrian crossings. A number of hazard factors were identified; divided into categories, including types of crossings, location, and surroundings; behavior of vulnerable road users; and attention (focus) distractors, both inside and outside the vehicle. A method for defining and selecting research scenarios and selecting a group of research participants was proposed. Additionally, it was proposed to conduct repeatable test scenarios for different driving speeds and different weather conditions. With respect to the publications on this topic, this work focuses on the process of designing and planning dedicated simulation studies, which may provide a source of guidance and good practices for other researchers. This is an example of how interdisciplinary research involving human factors, traffic organization, and ITS systems can be planned and implemented.

Despite the progressive development of modern technology, there is a lack of adequate and reliable training and information materials. Analyses carried out in this area show that most drivers do not have the skills to use safety systems or acquire these skills while driving. Drivers often demonstrate an incomplete understanding of them and overestimate their skills, which can jeopardize road safety. In this context, the authors of the paper set out to develop a model for evaluating the effectiveness of practical training using a high-end simulator. The research goal of the paper was to objectively measure drivers’ progress in operating safety systems after receiving practical training conducted in the AS1200-6 driving simulator located at the Motor Transport Institute. The main findings indicate that the innovative model was highly effective, with 81% of participants achieving a level rated as “acceptable” or “very good”. The model enabled more accurate and objective assessments of skills in comparison with the traditional subjective assessment of trainers, especially where driver progress was not clearly evident. The results suggest that combining the data model with trainer evaluation can be an effective evaluation mechanism in ADAS training.

MATEC Web of Conferences, open access proceedings in Materials science, Engineering and Chemistry

The process involved in preparing driving simulator tests is a labor intensive one, and the nature of this complexity depends on the sophistication of the tests to be carried out, as well as the number of participants. Which has an impact on the duration of the research itself. The very solution of using driving simulators is a research tool that has been in use for many years and with great success. They are used in a very wide range of areas of human functioning. They replicate in a very realistic way the conditions that can occur in the external environment, offer the possibility of repetition of particular conditions and insight into certain behaviors that could be very difficult to initiate in real life. This article also describes the dis- ease of using simulators to conduct research activities, along with the workflow from assumptions to finalizing the research. An algorithm is also presented for the study of individual participants, with examples for separate research scenarios concerning driver behavior in the vicinity of pedestrian crossings.

Vulnerable road users are the largest group of road accident victims in the world. At the same time, it should be noted that most road accidents are caused by the motor vehicle driver. An opportunity to increase the level of road safety is emergency braking systems installed in vehicles. Their task is to detect the risk of a collision with another object, issue a warning to the driver and, in the absence of reaction, perform emergency braking. The publication presents the results of research conducted by the Motor Transport Institute as part of the PEDICRASH project. As part of the work, a series of tests of the autonomous emergency braking system were carried out to check unusual but probable cases of events in which it should work. The tests were carried out in a closed area using a few selected models of popular passenger car brands. An additional data acquisition system and dummies imitating vulnerable road users: pedestrians and cyclists were used. The constructions represent the silhouette of an adult person and meet the requirements of the Euro NCAP AEB Protocol. The time of the collision at the time of issuing a warning to the driver was analyzed. Assuming that the vehicle was moving uniformly, the distance from the obstacle was calculated at the time of issuing the warning and after the driver's reaction time (0.7 s and 1 s were assumed) from this signal. The deceleration necessary to brake the vehicle was calculated and it was determined whether the driver would have a chance to brake the vehicle before a pedestrian or a cyclist in a given situation. For cases in which the driver would not be able to brake in time, the speed of the vehicle with which it would hit the vulnerable road users was calculated. Possible injuries and accident costs were then estimated.