Effective Driver’s Support System for High-load Driving Operations

As an example of a cooperative safety system that uses radio waves, the right-turn collision alert system is currently being developed in Japan in collaboration between the automotive industry, academia, and governments. This is a driver-oriented system that aims to reduce accidents involving vehicles turning right at intersections. Since turning right in right hand side steering wheel vehicles at an intersection involves a high-load driving operation, one issue for drivers with this system is the difficulty of understanding the contents of the assistance. In response, this paper describes the development of an assistance method that provides the driver with an advance right-turn assistance notification, which alerts the driver of system operation before the high operation load occurs, as well as providing assistance during the right turn. This paper also reports the results of an experiment to confirm the effectiveness of using the advance right-turn assistance notification at an intersection.