The Effects of Sensory Modality and Information Priority on In-Vehicle Signing and Information Systems

Abstract

During this study, subjects drove an interactive driving simulator and were presented road sign information from a visual dash-mounted LCD display or from digitized auditory voice. Information priority was also manipulated in that subjects received all sign information typically present in the roadway environment, or only “filtered” high priority regulatory and notification information. The effects of display type and filtering on information recall, driver performance, and driver preferences were measured. The results indicate that presenting information in an auditory mode results in a higher level of road sign information recall, but also decreases the subjects' driving performance when compared to a visual display. Subjects were also able to recall more road sign information and drove at a higher level of performance during the filtered conditions. Subjects rated auditory information as more distracting than visual information.