Improving clarity, cooperation and driver experience in lane change manoeuvres

Many situations in traffic involve multiple road users and can only be solved by successful cooperation. However, 30% of cooperation in traffic fail, which indicates that there is potential for improvement (Benmimoun et al., 2004). In this study, lane change manoeuvres were examined as a typical cooperative situation. In order to improve cooperation, two ways of enhancing lane change manoeuvres were tested. Firstly, a head-up display was used to support the regular turn signal. Secondly, the meaning of regular turn signals has been revisited and enhanced semantics that distinguish between planning and starting a manoeuvre were proposed and assessed. A driving simulator study with N = 52 participants was carried out to investigate the effect of using an Augmented Reality Head-Up Display (AR-HUD) and the enhanced semantics on cooperation. Similarly, the effect on clarity and the general experience of the situation were explored. The results suggest that both approaches are promoting permissive behavior. In addition, other drivers are perceived more cooperatively. Lastly, the ambiguity in the lane change situation was reduced.