United States Department of Transportation
i
Human Factors Research on Seat Belt Assurance Systems
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2020-02-01
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[PDF-2.52 MB]
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Edition:Final Report
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Abstract:Seat belt use is critical in mitigating injury severity and road fatalities from motor vehicle crashes. The design of a seat belt assurance system (SBAS) aims to promote more seat belt use, especially among drivers who do not have the habit of always using seat belts. This study was conducted to evaluate how part-time seat belt users interact with two prototype SBASs, a transmission interlock system and a speed limiter system, under naturalistic driving settings. A total of 48 part-time seat belt users participated and each participant was given one type of the SBASs for three weeks, one baseline week (i.e., the SBAS was not turned on), and two treatment weeks (i.e., the SBAS was activated). Data on participants’ driving behavior and their interactions with the SBAS was collected and along with subjective ratings were used in the final analysis. The results showed statistically significant improvement in seat belt use for both SBAS types such that the percentage of unbelted driving time (or trips) significantly decreased during the treatment period as compared to the percentage of unbelted driving time (or trips) during the baseline period. The average treatment period related reduction in unbelted driving time was about 14.4 percent while the reduction in unbelted trips was about 19.8 percent. High user acceptance was also observed that in general participants perceived the benefits during their experience with the technology. About 95 percent of drivers agreed or strongly agreed the technology was easy to use.
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