Evaluation of the intelligent cruise control system : volume 1 : study results

784572Final reportTransferred from EDL on 5/14/2008PDFTech ReportDOT-HS-808-969DOT-VNTSC-NHTSA-98-3S9036/HS921Autonomous intelligent cruise controlTraffic safetyField testsAcceptancePerformance testsEvaluation and assessmentMichiganUnited States. National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationKoziol, J. S.Inman, V. W.Carter, M.Hitz, John S.Najm, WassimChen, S.Lam, A.Penic, MichaelJensen, MarkBaker, M. J.Robinson, M.Goodspeed, C. H.John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)Science Applications International CorporationUnited States. National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationNTL-INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS-INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMSNTL-INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS-Driver Assistance Systems (Vehicles)NTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-SAFETY AND SECURITYIntelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program OfficeVolpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference CenterThe Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC) system evaluation was based on an ICC Field Operational Test (FOT) performed in Michigan. The FOT involved 108 volunteers recruited to drive ten ICC-equipped Chrysler Concordes. Testing was initiated in July 1996 and completed in September 1997. The ICC system tested automatically maintains a set time-headway between an ICC-equipped vehicle and a preceding vehicle through throttle modulation and down-shifting (but not braking). The overall goals were to evaluate: (1) Safety Effects of the ICC System; (2) ICC System and Vehicle Performance; (3) User Acceptance of the ICC System; and (4) System Deployment Issues. The FOT provided three primary sources of data used in the evaluation: (1) digital data on ICC system and vehicle performance (e.g., velocity, time-headway, range) collected in deci-second intervals by an on-board data acquisition system; (2) video data from a forward-looking camera mounted on the vehicle; and (3) participant questionnaires and focus groups. The data were collected by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) and forwarded on CD-ROM disks. A special database was established to support the evaluation. In addition, a number of data processing and analysis tools were also developed. This evaluation report describes the approaches used to address each evaluation goal, discusses detailed results and findings, and makes recommendations in each area. Volume I provides the study results and Volume II provides the supporting appendices. With respect to the primary evaluation goal (safety), it was concluded that use of the ICC system was associated with safer driving compared to manual control and, to a lesser extent, conventional cruise control, and is projected to result in net safety benefits if widely deployed. The evaluation also uncovered some areas of safety concern associated with ICC driving. There are several ameliorating factors, however, that suggest the concerns do not represent an overall safety problem for the ICC system