Driver Distraction

[williams]

Hi there!
I'm a automotive design student at coventry in my final year, for one of two projects this year im looking to design an interior to:

Look at ways of reducing driver distraction by simplifying controls and reviewing the layout of the car interior, whilst putting into practice the idea of turning controls from a cluttered distraction, into a more resolved, aesthetically and functionally beautiful centrepiece.

Items to look at_

Environment: Calming or stimulating, what keeps the driver more susceptible to distractions.
Passengers: How do they effect the driver, what layout suits the driver best.
Placement of controls: Away from passengers to stop fiddling!?
Lighting: Does it distract or alert?
Materials: Do certain colours, patterns distract, does dirt in the car distract. Look at how untidiness and clutter could add to distractions#
etc.. im sure you get the jist!

If anybody has any ideas or thoughts on whats distracting to them inside and outside of the car whilst driving, or good /bad examples of interiors for this subject, or ideas to reduce distraction it would be really good to hear from you!?!


regards

Andy Williams

[James]

Interesting topic, I am sure there will many replies and debates that come form this thread. I personally would not like to see controls simplified...

[Nigel]

Having read the request I've been trying to think of a useful answer.

The whole topic of driver distraction is very personal to an individual.

I can't think of any particular car that has caused me problems.

I suppose the only comment I could make is betwenn "British" and "European" indicator/wipers being exactly opposite, although the euro indicator on the left is winning hands down, with Japanese and Korean cars being the only ones I can think of that still use the British system....even this doesn't take much getting used to.

Differant gearbox systems could be an issue, but I've only experience of standard manual, BMW full auto, and BMW tiptronic, although I do know there are a few others.

[James]

Annoyingly placed window controls by the driver, especially if there are 4 buttons (one for each window). The back ones keep going down even though you meant the front ones to go down!

[Nigel]

Very wide A posts seem to be a modern feature, they are more annoying than distacting though.

James: take your racing glove off before operating the windows

[williams]

excellent thanks guys........
what about things that arent the actual car, like passengers, kids in the back, people messing with controls, leaving rubbish/dirty car, do you try and clean it whilst driving if you see a mark?? have you encountered any problems in these areas too..........

thanks again, keep 'em coming!!...anythings helpful

[7db]

Was most impressed by the nipples on Steve's Alpina (fingertip buttons for changing up and down gear) and the information presented on the heads-up.

[James]

leaving rubbish/dirty car, do you try and clean it whilst driving if you see a mark??

Truth be told, I cannot bare any sort of dirt in my car (Brian Haddon will back me up on this). I am quite obsessive about it, my car is ALWAYS showroom condition. This is a pic of it currently:

[christopherwk]

Hmm, not sure if relevant, but there's a chip in my windscreen, which is on the passenger's side. Very distracting whenever there's a passenger, they always seem to touch it (even though they can't feel anything) leaving smeary fingermarks on the windscreen as if the chip isn't bad enough already.

Another distraction is things like maps, bottles of drink, sweets, coins etc rattling around. Perhaps you could think about proper storage compartments for these (most cars have suitable storage spaces for these, but never enough!).

Take a look at the interior of the new Ford Transit for ideas:

http://www.ford.co.uk/ie/transit/tv_interior/tv_mobile/-/-/3/28

they have a compartment specially designed for taking A4 sized binders and suspension files.

By the way, I drive a small van, which is really a car with a big box on the back, and storage space is non existent. Therefore I may have a map, delivery notes, bottle of water, high vis waistcoat, clipboard, small packages etc all sitting on the front passenger seat, and whenever I brake hard (which is not very IAM!), it all goes crashing into the footwell creating a mess![/quote]

[Darren]

Not a hint of OCD there is there James? Come to think of it, some people who study advanced driving might develop OCD on the way and order things "must" be done. Failing to remember the System is supposed to be somewhat flexible.

Back on topic though (some of these are more irritating rather than distraction, but if I'm irritated, I'm distracted)

I get really irritated with wide A posts which obscure view in the front.

Front foot rests in BMW 3 series, it makes the cockpit really small and I can't stretch out my left foot without it getting caught under the clutch.

Single touch 3 click indicators - it's not long enough to even change lanes on a motorway. If I press it once, I end up having to think about pressing it again.

Depending on the weather and lighting, the front heated window elements in Fords.

[christopherwk]

Oh yeah, and I find too much light from the instruments on the dashboard can be a distraction at night, especially on unlit roads. I usually dim the dashboard light, just enough so I can still see the speedo.

I like the idea of Saabs where you can dim all the other dials and readouts except for the speedo.

[stuartb]

Trying to come up with things relevant to your non-control direction...

I've often wondered why someone hasn't made an MPV yet with a soundproof divider a la limos! I'm serious.

I don't have kids, but would guess from having observed others that using mirrors or turning to look at kids in the back are a major dsitraction.

I find it distracting when my Mum is in the back and my wife in the front. My mum always leans forwards to hear/make her self heard but then she's right next to my lughole.

I try to get them both to be chauffeured in the back if I can.
(which brings us back to the sound-proofed divider)

Other things - I definitely like the driver orientated cockpit designs which BMW used to do extremely well (less so today). It deters passenger fiddling. But then having some controls (e.g. passenger side climate controls firmly on the passenger side rather than just to the left of the centre console would also be preferable IMO.

There's still a way to go on basic ergonomics I think also - visibility of gauges for all heights of person. My car has gauges which ove up and down with the wheel and the visibility could not be better. I've tried other cars where I could not see large chunks of the speedo.

Seating position flexibilityseems still to be a major issue for many people. I cannot fathom how all the people I see who can just about see over the top of the steering wheel can manage. And when I've been shopping many many cars I reject straightaway because the seat doesn't go back far enough (I'm only 6ft tall - pretty average these days).

Stuart

[MiniClubmanEstate]

Here's an idea, make a slightly larger rear-view mirror casing with a small digital speedometer so that drivers also check their mirrors when they check their speed.
I like the simplistic layout of my Mini although having axillary controls in a switch board in the middle of the dash rail is not the best if you have passengers who like fiddling with things.
I prefer a light switch on a panel as you can't knock it if you use the indicators and another thing, make sure there's an easy to read clock for checking if bus-lanes are on or off which is something I sometimes have to watch at times when I'm driving.

Good luck with this project, am interested to see what you come up with.

[martine]

I think geting the balance right between calm and quiet yet giving the driver enough feedback and stimulation to keep alert is the biggest hurdle. It's not a problem on urban or country roads but on long boring motorway drives a serenly quiet, smooth, warm envirnoment late at night can be a killer (literally). Not sure of the answer but that's your job!

How about more efforts to eliminate the blind spot on most cars...specially shaped mirros, tv cameras, warning sensors dunno but it's a problem waiting for an answer.

A joystick steering control would seem to be sensible - it's been tried before on 'concept' cars but never made production (as far as I know) so perhaps there are practical considerations to be overcome.

4-point seat belts would be safer than 3 but need to be easy to use for a wide variety of people shapes.

Agree with others about size of A pillars on some cars.

[waremark]

Don't make things different for the sake of it - every time some manufacturer comes up with a new type of indicator or handbrake control which is just different, not better, it proves a distraction.

Don't follow the BMW i-drive route of a single control which has to be moved in too many different directions, and which requires several steps to achieve what could otherwise be achieved by a single button push.

Do provide fully powered adjustment of every aspect of seating and mirror positions with memory.

Do provide mirrors for seeing what the kids are doing in the back.

Do integrate warning of fixed camera positions with navigation with traffic information.