ABSTRACT
The three primary elements of a vehicular traffic system are the driver, the vehicle and the road environment. Drew (1968) suggests that the driver component of this system is the most complex as the human driver is generally characterized by higher-level processes, such as perceptual capabilities (eg vision, hearing and sensation of forces on the body); cognitive functions (eg learning, motivation and attitude); and control functions (eg steering and braking). For example, learning could concern the ability of the driver to improve their understanding of the driving task through repetition, with feedback allowing error adjustment to be made to improve situational responses. Control function, on the other hand, could address the execution of actions, typically those involved with stabilizing the vehicle’s path and speed, eg steering, braking and acceleration.
