Development Of Human Factors Guidelines For Advanced Traveler Information Systens And Commercial Vehicle Operations: Comparable Systems Analysis

NHTSA · 1996 · ROSA P / United States. Joint Program Office for Intelligent Transportation Systems

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Summary

This report documents a comparable systems analysis conducted to develop human factors design guidelines for Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) and Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO), key components of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) initiative. The primary motivation was to identify "lessons learned" from existing systems to inform the design of future in-vehicle information displays, ensuring they enhance driver performance and safety without compromising operational safety. The study aimed to derive precise, detailed guidelines by analyzing systems that represented the features and functions of ATIS/CVO subsystems, including routing, navigation, motorist services, signing information, and safety advisories. The methodology involved the selection and analysis of seven accessible systems in the United States. Five were highway transportation or CVO in-vehicle systems: TravTek (route guidance), the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) instrumented vehicle, Navmate (route guidance), OmniTRACS (commercial vehicle communications), and TravelPilot (fire department dispatch). Two non-highway systems were included for their advanced navigation and decision-aiding relevance: the Army’s Crew Station Research and Development Facility (CSRDF) and the Sikorsky Cognitive Decision-Aiding System. Selection criteria included relevance to ATIS/CVO concepts, technology level, information flow dynamics, and accessibility. The analysis employed multiple methods: documentation review, heuristic evaluations by human factors experts, target user evaluations using verbal protocol analysis, and interviews with design team members to assess the rationale and effectiveness of existing design guidelines. The analysis yielded 177 specific lessons learned, which were coded and categorized to generate 66 preliminary human factors design guidelines. These guidelines were organized into 13 categories, including In-Vehicle Display Design, Controls, User-System Interface, Driver Attention/Workload/Safety, Driver Information Requirements, Route Guidance/Planning/Navigation, Map Databases, Vehicle Location Accuracy, Driver Acceptance, Communication Between Driver and Dispatch/Help Center, Training Issues/Requirements, Handbooks and Guidelines, and Design Approaches. Each guideline was linked to the specific lessons learned from the analyzed systems that supported its inclusion. The significance of this work lies in providing a foundational set of human factors guidelines derived directly from actual ATIS/CVO systems rather than theoretical models or unrelated application areas. The authors emphasize that these guidelines are preliminary and based on observation, expert judgment, and subjective user analysis. While the strength of the approach is its grounding in real-world systems, the report concludes that empirical validation is essential before these guidelines can be adopted as definitive standards for the human factors design of future ITS components. The findings highlight the importance of user-centered design and identify critical research issues, such as driver attention management and the specific needs of older drivers.

Key finding

The analysis of seven comparable systems yielded 177 lessons learned which were synthesized into 66 preliminary human factors guidelines for ATIS and CVO design.

Methodology

mixed_methods

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