Improving the User Acceptability of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Based on Different Driving Styles: A Case Study of Lane Change Warning Systems

The low user acceptability of advanced driver assistance systems (ADASs) is one of the fundamental problems limiting their wider adoption. One of the key factors affecting the frequency of warning signals is the standard warning thresholds set in ADASs, which may not be compatible with all drivers owing to various driver characteristics affecting their cognition of risk, such as comfort, skill, and experience. The present study focuses on the lane change warning (LCW) system to evaluate driving styles according to the perception of lane change risk, and determine appropriate warning thresholds corresponding to the different driving styles. A theoretical lane change warning model is established to calculate the deceleration required for the rear approaching vehicle in the target lane. The results of risk assessment experiments conducted on an actual expressway using 15 proficient drivers are employed to evaluate the risk cognitions of the participants, where the participants are divided into four different driving styles according to their adaptive warning thresholds, which are denoted as very low threshold, low threshold, medium threshold, and high threshold driving styles. Signal detection theory is then employed to determine lane change warning thresholds appropriate to the different driving styles. Our results clearly demonstrate the disparate perceptions of lane change risk for the different drivers. Therefore, the LCW system should adopt different warning thresholds for different drivers according to their driving style. The findings provide evidence supporting the exploitation of driving styles for adopting different warning thresholds in the LCW system to enhance its user acceptability.