Preface
The advent of intelligent transport systems (ITS) is about to transform the driving experience. Already the application of advanced technologies to automative engineering has made available on-board digital maps, extensive information databases, vehicle positioning and tracking, and integrated visual and auditory displays. Once perfected and in widespread use, ITS is expected to improve safety, alleviate traffic congestion, decrease transportation costs, increase economic productivity, and reduce the environmental damage caused by the use of motor vehicles. Whereas intelligent transport systems are safety neutral in that they are not inherently beneficial or detrimental, there is the very real danger that, unless the driver-ITS interface is well designed, ITS will be a safety hazard.

The aim of this book is to present knowledge that will contribute to the design of ergonomically sound driver-ITS interfaces. It is based, in part, on papers presented at the Symposium on the Ergonomics of Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems (IVHS) held in Toronto during the 12th Congress of the International Ergonomics Association in August 1994. Although intelligent transport systems comprise many different elements, the Symposium focused on the driver-ITS interface in order to ensure that it supports the driving task, rather than distracts from it, and presents information to the driver in a reliable, accurate, and easy-to-understand way.

A fundamental obstacle to ensuring that the full benefits of ITS are realized is that technological advances are increasing at a much faster pace than knowledge in the behavioral sciences. For instance, the driver's role and the interaction of the driver with the other elements of the road transport system are not well understood. In addition, our current knowledge of ergonomics and traffic psychology, although considerable, does not permit us to determine how well drivers will handle ITS-related functions or how they will adapt to new human-machine interfaces. More important, the current state of ergonomics theory and the available empirical data permit only a preliminary formulation of principles and guidelines upon which to base the design of driver-ITS interfaces. Whether ITS will become an adjunct or an impediment to safety will depend largely on the specific technologies that are invoked, the manner in which they are incorporated into the vehicle, and how they are presented to the driver.

The individual chapters of this book, which have been subjected to peer review, present material that is related to a variety of ITS applications, such as route guidance and collision avoidance. In many instances, the theoretical constructs, discussions, and research findings have been updated and are described more fully than in the papers presented at the Symposium. In selecting the contributions, an effort was made to provide an international sample of research; no attempt was made to treat specific topics in a systematic or comprehensive manner.

It is with deep gratitude that I wish to thank the International Ergonomics Association for providing the forum for the Symposium; the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for its sponsorship; the authors for the time and energy they devoted to preparing their manuscripts; the reviewers for their thoughtful comments and suggestions; and the publisher, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, for undertaking to produce this book. All those who have contributed to this volume have done so in the hope that their work will help to improve the usability of driver-ITS interfaces and thereby enhance traffic safety....