Modeling the Effects of Drivers’ Adaptive Behavior on System Safety

October 8, 2015

About the Presentation

Many technological innovations are designed to increase driver safety by simplifying tasks and user demands in safety-critical situations. Some safety systems are designed to help drivers make appropriate decisions while others will initiate the decision if the driver is not capable during safety-critical moments. One often unanticipated effect of these systems is that drivers’ behavior may change, adapting in unforeseen ways that may either enhance or compromise the potential benefits of the system. For example, a system that is designed to increase or maintain safety will fail if adaptation negates the intended outcome.

This presentation reviewed how behavioral adaptation can have an effect on overall system performance and discuss how developing approaches to understand and model this effect can provide great benefits for the design of future transportation systems. One specific technology that is influenced by adaptive behavior is adaptive cruise control (ACC)—one of many in-vehicle systems that is transforming the driving task. ACC was highlighted as a case study to showcase factors that should be considered when modeling the effects of adaptive behavior.

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About the Speaker

Linda Ng Boyle is a professor and chair of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Washington. She has a joint appointment in civil and environmental engineering. She holds a B.S. degree from the University of Buffalo and a M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Washington. She is an associate editor for Accident Analysis and Prevention, the chair of the TRB committee on Statistical Methods, and a recipient of the NSF Career Award. She is also one of the organizers of the International Conference on Driving Assessment.