Phase II Driver Survey Report: Volvo Intelligent Vehicle Initiative Field Operational Test

NHTSA · 2004 · ROSA P / United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration

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Summary

This report details the Phase II findings of a Field Operational Test (FOT) evaluating Intelligent Vehicle Safety Systems (IVSS) in commercial trucks, conducted under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Intelligent Vehicle Initiative. The study aimed to assess user acceptance, human factors, and the impact of three specific technologies—Eaton VORAD® collision warning, SmartCruise adaptive cruise control, and AdvBS advanced braking—on driver performance, stress, and safety perceptions. The research was motivated by the need to determine if these systems reduce crash probabilities and how they affect driver workload and vigilance during real-world operations. The methodology involved a partnership between Volvo Trucks North America and U.S. Xpress, utilizing 100 Volvo VN770 tractors in revenue service. Fifty vehicles were equipped with all three IVSS technologies (test group), while the remaining 50 served as control groups with varying levels of technology activation. Data collection relied on telephone interviews conducted via a Computer-Aided Telephone Interview (CATI) system at the beginning (Phase I) and end (Phase II) of the evaluation period. Phase II focused on drivers’ actual experiences after substantial exposure to the systems, with respondents averaging nearly 12 years of truck driving experience and over three years of experience with VORAD®. The results indicated that drivers generally found the IVSS technologies usable and beneficial, though training adequacy varied. While 54% of drivers received VORAD® training, most learned SmartCruise and AdvBS through trial and error. Drivers reported that IVSS reduced perceived mental workload by 14% to 21% across various conditions, particularly in low visibility or heavy traffic. However, VORAD® generated frequent false positive alerts (averaging 4.7 out of 10 alerts), which drivers cited as a nuisance, though these rarely distracted them from driving tasks. Regarding safety, 77% of drivers believed VORAD® reduced accident risk by improving following distance and awareness, while 93% preferred driving with AdvBS. Drivers reported modifying their behavior, such as increasing following distances, in response to the systems. The study concludes that experienced truck drivers accept and prefer these safety technologies, believing the benefits outweigh drawbacks like false alarms. The findings support the deployment of IVSS to enhance fleet safety, provided that system maturity improves to reduce false alerts and that training is optimized. The research highlights that while IVSS lowers driver stress and workload, user acceptance is contingent on system reliability and the clarity of alerts, suggesting that further refinement is necessary for widespread implementation.

Key finding

Drivers reported that the safety technologies reduced perceived mental workload by 14% to 21% across various driving conditions and that 81% preferred driving with Vorad compared to without it.

Methodology

survey

Provenance

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Topics

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• automation surprise
• in vehicle coaching
• situational awareness

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Empirical Findings: self report data, observational prevalence
• Methodological Resource: validation psychometrics