A Task-Analytic Approach for Estimating Driver Task Demands on Specific Roadway Sections

• Published in: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting Vol. 56; no. 1; pp. 2276 - 2280
• Main Authors: Lichty, Monica G., Richard, Christian M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.09.2012
• ISSN: 1541-9312; 2169-5067; 2169-5067; 1071-1813
• DOI: 10.1177/1071181312561479

Incorporating driver capabilities and information needs into roadway designs can be challenging because there is limited information available about the driving task in typical engineering design references. Task analyses of driving are one way to assist design and help consider driver needs. This article presents a new task-analytic method for estimating driver task demands along existing or planned roadway sections. A top-down approach was used to decompose driving maneuvers on a particular roadway section into segments, driving tasks, and information processing subtasks. Milestones were used to constrain task placement in space and time. Overlap between tasks over the same roadway section was used to identify regions of potentially heightened workload. Overall, this approach outlines a simple and structured method for accommodating driver tasks and information needs into the roadway design decision-making process.