An Experimental Study of Automobile Driver Characteristics and Capabilities

An experimental program to obtain quantitative data on how drivers utilize the performance and handling properties of their vehicles has been performed. Over one hundred drivers participated in the experiment, which consisted of self-paced driving through a specially-constructed proving ground handling course several times. Continuous measurements of primary input variables steering wheel motions and brake pedal activity and the principal vehicle responses speed and lateral and longitudinal accelerations were made throughout each trial. Total time in the course and incidents of failure to maintain path were also measured. Driving techniques e.g., hand position on the steering wheel, foot used for braking of the subjects, who were selected to provide an appropriate representation of the driving population with respect to age, sex, and years of driving experience, were subjectively observed.