Lane change behavior with a side blind zone alert system

This in-traffic study explored the effect of a side blind zone alert (SBZA) system on driver lane change behavior. Such a system may help drivers avoid lane change crashes by warning them with a side mirror display when a vehicle is detected in their blind zone. Participants drove with and without the SBZA system enabled, and were instructed to evaluate vehicle ride characteristics and only given an “incidental” system explanation. Overall, drivers failed to execute “over the shoulder” (blind zone) glances for 68 and 85% of the left and right lane changes, respectively. This suggests that the SBZA display provides information to the driver that often fails to be obtained via over the shoulder glances. In addition, when the SBZA system was enabled there was a 31% reduction in left lane changes attempted without the driver checking the left mirror, and a 23% reduction in right lane changes attempted without the driver checking the inside mirror. These results, coupled with the assumption that “did not see other vehicle” is a principal causal factor in many lane change crashes, suggests that the SBZA system may assist drivers in avoiding lane change crashes.