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The usage of rearview camera displays and their effectiveness on drivers' capability to avoid unexpected obstacles during four common backing tasks (i.e., parallel parking, backing between two vehicles, backing down a driveway, backing out of a garage) was evaluated on a closed-course with stationary confederate vehicles, signage, and lane markings. The obstacle consisted of either a stationary or a moving target that appeared to the rear of the test vehicle. Eye movements and vehicle dynamics measurements (i.e., longitudinal acceleration, brake displacement) were recorded, in addition to obstacle hit/avoidance rates. Performance was assessed for four rearview camera (RVC) conditions: small center-stack display (SD), large center-stack display (i.e., navigation screen) (LD), in-mirror display (IMD), and no display (ND).

Previous research [1] described a procedure for creating prints from digital photographs that accurately represent critical features of visual scenes at low levels of illumination. In this procedure, observers adjust the brightness of a digital photographs captured using standard photography until it best matches the visible characteristics of the actual scene. However, standard digital photography cannot capture the full dynamic range of a scene's luminous intensities in many low-illumination settings. High dynamic range (HDR) photography has the potential to more accurately represent a viewer's perception under low illumination. Such a capability can be critical to representing nighttime roadway scenes, where HDR photography can enable the creation of more accurate photographic representations of bright visual stimuli (e.g., vehicle headlamps, street lighting) while also maintaining the integrity of the photograph's darker portions.

Sound localization of a backup alarm is important in situations when vehicles are reversing. Previous work has demonstrated the effects of ambient noise level and the spectral content of the backup alarm on localization. In the current study, we investigate the effects of backup alarm mounting location on localization performance. To address this question, we asked blindfolded listeners to localize backup alarms installed in positions that provided either direct (e.g., installed on the outer rear aspect of the vehicle) or indirect (e.g., installed within the inner frame rails of the vehicle) sound propagation paths to the listener. Additionally, we explored the effects of ambient noise level and the direction of origin of the alarm (behind, in front of, or to the left or right of the listener), and the interactions among all three factors (alarm location, ambient noise, and alarm direction relative to the listener).

Inadvertent vehicle movement incidents, in which a vehicle rolls away after the driver has exited, may occur in automatic transmission vehicles as a result of environmental, vehicular, and/or driver factors. Some explanations have focused on claimed potential malfunctions or design flaws in the vehicle's console shift mechanism or in the automatic transmission itself. However, growing evidence suggests that driver errors unrelated to vehicle design may in fact be the primary cause of many inadvertent vehicle movement incidents. The present research extends previous work on driver gear-shifting behaviors and vehicle egress by conducting more in-depth analyses of data collected by Harley et al. (2008).