ABSTRACT

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in vehicles are associated with safety and comfort benefits for the driver (Brookhuis et al. 2001). Adaptive cruise control (ACC) is an ADAS that controls speed and distance to vehicles ahead based on speed and time-gap settings (see, e.g., Naranjo et al. 2003 or Stanton and Young 2005). Several studies concerning ACC systems have been carried out and the majority of these studies have however not focused on actual users, instead car drivers in general have been appointed as participants. Such a recruiting strategy has advantages when addressing certain research questions, while for other research questions, knowledge and experience of a specific system are essential. In comparison with studies not including actual users, studies including them are scarce. There are nevertheless a few exceptions including studies by Strand et al. (2011), Larsson (2012), Bianchi Piccinini et al. (2012), and Sanchez et al. (2012) which all focused on actual end users and their assessment of and behavioral adaptation to the systems.