Effects of Automobile Steering Characteristics on Driver/Vehicle Performance for Regulation Tasks

Driver and driver/vehicle system dynamic behaviors were examined in a regulation driving task wherein the driver maintains the car within a lane in the presence of random gust-like disturbances. Changes in vehicle dynamics, and insertion of the simulated gust, were accomplished using a variable stability automobile. The experiments showed that the drivers adjusted their dynamics to keep some driver/vehicle system properties essentially constant. The regulation task measurements were interpreted as effective open-loop system describing functions. From these data, objective measures of system bandwidth, stability, effective time delay, and closed-loop damping were deduced and compared as functions of vehicle dynamics and driver gender. The key system dynamic characteristics held constant by driver adjustments, and the nature of these adjustments, were also indicated by these data.