Determining Infrastructure- and Traffic Factors that Increase the Perceived Complexity of Driving Situations

Abstract

When designing experimental studies in the driving domain, an important decision is which driving scenarios to include. It is proposed that HMI need to be adaptive to the complexity of the driving situation, in order to avoid overloading the driver. To further study adaptive HMI a comprehensive list of factors that determine the perceived complexity of a driving situation is required, yet absent. In this, infrastructure- and traffic characteristics that may influence the perceived complexity of a driving situation were collected from literature. Next, four sets of driving scenarios of varying complexities were created and validated in an online survey. The results of this study include: 1) a list of infrastructure- and traffic characteristics that influence the overall complexity of a driving situation, and 2) validated scenarios of varying complexities. These outcomes help researchers and designers in setting up future driving studies.