MUARC

This chapter examines some of the key hrrman factors issues that will underpin the effectiveness of ADAS technologies, arrd describes some research bearing on these issues that has been urrdertaken by MUARC. Driver distraction is probably the first significant hitman factors issue to emerge as a by-product of the vehicle cockpit revolution, fuelled more by the proliferation of entertainment and information and communication systems than by ADAS technologies. Some current MUARC projects on this topic are also described. 

The Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) is one of the world s leading injury prevention research centres. It was established in 1987, has neatly 100 research staff and undertakes applied, multidisciplinaiy, research for industiy and governments. The Centre is known, locally and internationally, for its research into the impact of ADAS technologies on driver performance, behaviour and safety. Some key projects that underpin the MUARC research program, and which address a number of the human factors issues discussed above, are described below. 

MU ARC S centerpiece ADAS research activity has been the TAC SafeCar project It began in June 1999 and involved as key partners the dctorian Transport Accident Commission (TAC), MUARC and Ford Australia The study, which concluded in 2005, evaluated the technical operation, impact on driving performance and acceptability to drivers of three ADAS technologies Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) Following Distance Warning (FDW) and the Seatbelt Reminder (SBR). 

The car cockpit is evolving rapidly. Drivers are interachng with an increasing range of entertainment, informahon and communication, and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. The human factors issues that intervene to determine the extent to which these technologies are used safely by drivers are maity and varied. This chapter has idenhfied some of the more critical issues and has outlined a small sub-set of MUARC projects that have yielded new knowledge in the area. 

MUARC Monash Uiuversity Accident Research Centre... 

The Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC)... 

The University of Leeds Institute for Transport Studies, for providing Dr. Jamson the academic freedom to work on the book Peter Bums (Transport Canada), Neale Kinnear (TRL), and Kristie Young (MUARC) for providing chapter reviews... 

Diamantopoulou, K. and M. Cameron (2002). An evaluation of the effectiveness of overt and covert speed enforcement achieved through mobile radar operations. MUARC Report 187. Monash University Accident Research Center, Clayon, Victoria, AU. 

Young, K., M. Regan and M. Hammer (2003). Driver distraction a review of the literature. Monash University Accident Research Center (MUARC), Report No. 206. Clayton, Victoria, AU. 

BAY 06] Bayly M., Regan M., Hosking S., Intelligent Transport Systems and Motorcycle Safety (Monash University Accident Research Centre Report 260), MUARC, Clayton, Australia, 2006. 

MUARC. Unpublished data Serious injury and severity rates. 2012, Monash University Accident Research Centre, Melbourne, Australia. 

The Transport Accident Commission (TAC), the no fault transport injury compensation insurer of the govermnent of Victoria, Australia, provided a very generous, untied grant to assist with the preparation of this book. Carlyn Muir is a research fellow at the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) who has worked in public safety research for a number of years, and her time working on the book was partially funded by this grant. 

We are deeply indebted to the TAC not only for their financial contribution to MUARC to finance Dr. Muir s time, but also for introducing us to selected clients of theirs, recipients of injnry compensation who were willing to discuss their experiences in the belief that some good may come from what they have endured and continue to endure. We are indebted to these families for agreeing to relive their horrific tragedies. 

Dr. Carlyn Muir is a research fellow at the Monash Injury Research Institute, which incorporates the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC). She is a psychologist whose doctoral research examined driver licensing policy for people following brain injury. She has been involved in the development and review of public health policy not only from a research perspective, but also through direct policy implementation within state health services. Dr. Muir s current research involves the design and implementation of a range of injury prevention and public health projects, with a focus on community health and safety, policy, and evaluation. She has published journal articles, book chapters, and government reports across the community safety space. 

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