OBJECTIVE:

We conducted a set of experiments to examine the utility of several different uni- and multimodal collision avoidance systems (CASs) on driving performance of young and older adult drivers in a high-fidelity simulator.

BACKGROUND:

Although previous research has examined the efficacy of different CASs on collision avoidance, there has been a dearth of studies that have examined such devices in different driving situations with different populations of drivers.

METHOD:

Several different CAS warnings were examined in varying traffic and collision configurations both without (Experiment 1a) and with (Experiment 2) a distracting in-vehicle task.

RESULTS:

Overall, collision avoidance performance for both potential forward and side object collisions was best for an auditory/visual CAS, which alerted drivers using both modalities. Interestingly, older drivers (60-82 years of age) benefited as much as younger drivers from the CAS, and sometimes they benefited more.

CONCLUSION:

These data suggest that CASs can be beneficial across a number of different driving scenarios, types of collisions, and driver populations.

APPLICATION:

These results have important implications for the design and implementation of CASs for different driver populations and driving conditions.