Equipment and methods for the evaluation of driver performance in relation to vehicle instrumentation

Manufacturers are largely responsible for the original man-machine interface of their vehicles. A wide range of additional and replacement instrumentation is also available which is becoming increasingly sophisticated. The effects of new instrumentation, particularly information systems, may have safety and traffic management implications beyond the `microscopic´ interaction between driver and instrument. Although design standards are evolving, instrument performance cannot be measured entirely in isolation from drivers; there is a need to measure the perceptions and performance of drivers to evaluate the performance of instrumentation. A number of techniques and methods exist (and are being further developed) to measure both qualitative and quantitative aspects of driver interaction with instrumentation. A combination of these techniques provide not only a means of assessing current instrumentation, but of refining future designs. The authors briefly describe some of the instrumentation