ABSTRACT
The introduction of low-cost, high speed computers as a tool to affect traffic behaviour has just started. One of the potential dangers coming along with such systems is that they convey too much information to the driver at the wrong moment, that is, when the driver needs to attend to the traffic environment, or to more important information presented concurrently by other in-car systems. The reality of this danger is indicated by conclusions that even without sophisticated in-car displays driver inattention plays a role in about 30 to 50 per cent of all accidents (Treat et al., 1979; Sussman et al., 1985). If we do not want this figure to increase care should be taken that drivers can not be overloaded by information from in-car devices.
