Citation

Achtemeier JD, Craig CM, Morris NL, Davis B. Ergonomics 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/00140139.2020.1740334

PMID

32149581

Abstract

Alerts presented through the auditory modality improve drivers' crash avoidance performance in driving simulations, but drivers' ability to accurately localize the source of the auditory alerts is understudied. Because the results of driving simulation studies may hinge on assumptions that sound locations are accurately perceived by drivers, this study utilized a sound localization task in a full-chassis driving simulator. Twenty-nine participants engaged in a sound localization task while seated in the driving simulator. Performance was assessed by sound localization accuracy, relative directional error, and participant confidence across seven sound sources surrounding the simulator. Performance was best when sounds were presented in left and right cardinal regions, and poorest when presented from the front and rear. Participants were less confident in their localization judgments when sounds were presented from the rear.Practitioner Summary: Drivers' ability to accurately localize auditory alerts is understudied. Participants performed an auditory localization task with external sounds while seated in a full-chassis driving simulator. Participants were better detecting sounds from the sides instead of the front and rear. This has implications for external auditory alarms during driving.

Language: en

Keywords

Perception; driving; ergonomics tools and methods; hearing; transport ergonomics