Driver Acceptance of New Technology ― Theory, Measurement and Optimisation

"Acceptance of new technology and systems by drivers is an important area of concern to governments, automotive manufacturers and equipment suppliers, especially technology that has significant potential to enhance safety. To be acceptable, new technology must be useful and satisfying to use. If not, drivers will not want to have it, in which case it will never achieve the intended safety benefit. Even if they have the technology, drivers may not use it if it is deemed unacceptable, or may not use it in the manner intended by the designer. At worst, they may seek to disable it"-Provided by publisher.

Michael A. Regan is a Professor in Transport and Road Safety (TARS) Research in the School of Aviation at the University of New South Wales, in Sydney, Australia. Before that he held research appointments with the French Institute of Science and Technology for Transport, Development and Networks (IFFSTAR) in Lyon, France, and the Monash University Accident Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia. Mikea€?s current research interests focus on human interaction with and acceptance of advanced driver assistance systems, driver distraction and inattention, use of instrumented vehicles for naturalistic observation of driving behaviour, and aviation safety. He sits on the editorial boards of five peer-reviewed journals, including Human Factors, is the author of more than 200 publications, including two books, and sits on several expert committees in transport safety. He is the 25th President of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of Australia. Tim Horberry is Associate Professor of Human Factors at the University of Queensland, Australia. He is also a Senior Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, UK, and before that he was at the UK's Transport Research Laboratory. Tim has published his work widely, including four books published either by Ashgate or CRC press: The Human Factors of Transport Signs (2004) and Human Factors in the Maritime Domain (2008), Understanding Human Error In Mine Safety (2009) and Human Factors for the Design, Operation and Maintenance of Mining Equipment (2010). Tim has undertaken many applied human factors research projects in Australia, the UK and Europe for organisations such as the European Union, Australian Research Council and the UK Department for Transport. Currently Tim is leading several projects in the minerals industry that are examining acceptance of new technology for mining vehicles - including collision detection systems or shovel automation. Alan Stevens is Chief Research Scientist and Research Director, Transportation, at the Transport Research Laboratory TRL, in the UK, where he has been working on the application of new technology to transport for 25 years. He is an internationally recognised expert in Human-Machine Interaction (HMI) in the driving environment and was co-author of the a€?European Statement of Principles on HMIa€? through his work within the eSafety initiative, where he co-chairs the HMI Working Group. He was also an active member of the responsible international standards committee, regularly participating in meetings with European, US, Canadian and Japanese colleagues. He was recently appointed to the EU-US Working Group on Driver Distraction following the EU-US High Level Cooperation agreement and continues to be involved in the international IHRA (International Harmonized Research Agenda) group and on the Management Committee of IBEC (International Benefit Evaluation and Costs) group. Alana€?s consultancy activities focus on providing advice on policy and interoperability issues to Government, developing research programs and carrying out specific technical and human factors studies in Intelligent Transportation Systems. He participates in university teaching at MSc level, supervises PhD students and is Editor in Chief of an international peer-review journal of Intelligent Transport Systems.