Human Factors for Connected Vehicles Transit Bus Research

2019Final ReportRitchie HuangPDFTech ReportDOT HS 812 652DTNH22-11-D-00236, Task Order 18, Subaward 451329-19615Human factorsConnected vehiclesBus transitResearchBus driversDriver vehicle interfacesPedestriansCrash avoidance systemsTask analysisCrash warning systemsBus operatorsOregonSeattle (Washington)United StatesUnited States. Department of Transportation. National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationGraving, JustinBacon-Abdelmoteleb, PaigeCampbell, John L.Battelle Seattle Research CenterUnited States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Office of Behavioral Safety ResearchNHTSA - Vehicle Safety ResearchThis report describes the tasks and demands associated with driving a transit bus, and directly supports the development of design guidelines for future transit safety technologies. The frequency and costs of bus-pedestrian accidents have created considerable interest in technologies that detect pedestrian hazards and warn the bus operator in time to mitigate or prevent an accident. This project addressed a lack of data on bus operator task demands through a mix of surveys, literature reviews, ride-alongs, cognitive task analyses, prototyping activities, and focus groups. The project team was aided tremendously by the support and involvement of transit agencies and their drivers in Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon (King County Metro & TriMet). Key findings from the task analyses illustrated the high demand and complicated nature of bus operator specific activities such as the management of passenger boarding/payment, the navigation of intersections, and the driving on roadways where there is the co-occurrence of visual demands in disparate portions of the roadway scene and bus interior. The project also identified: safety issues (e.g., the impact of current riders on hazard detection, possible conflict between drivers\u2019 behaviors and local laws/policy, and impacts of new technologies on rider perceptions about driver behaviors) that are critical to the introduction of safety technologies for transit, additional research questions about bus operators\u2019 tasks, and the implications of these tasks for the design of pedestrian detection and alerting systems.78