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Advanced Driver Assistive System (ADAS) technologies have been introduced as the automotive industry moves towards autonomous driving. One ADAS technology with the potential for substantial safety benefits is forward collision warning and mitigation (FCWM), which is designed to warn drivers of imminent front-end collisions, potentiate driver braking responses, and apply the vehicle's brakes autonomously. Although the proliferation of FCWM technologies can, in many ways, mitigate the necessity of a timely braking response by a driver in an emergency situation, how these systems affect a driver's overall ability to safely, efficiently, and comfortably operate a motor vehicle remains unclear. Exponent conducted a closed-course evaluation of drivers' reactions to an imminent forward collision event while driving an FCWM-equipped vehicle, either with or without a secondary task administered through a hands-free cell phone.

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).