Examining Distraction and Driver Monitoring Systems to Improve Driver Safety

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is seeking approval for this new information collection request (ICR) to allow NHTSA to conduct a study on driver monitoring systems (DMS). DMS refers to in-vehicle technology that can detect driver state and interact with the driver through the human-machine interface (the user interface that connects the driver to the vehicle). NHTSA is proposing to conduct a study to improve NHTSA’s understanding of the differences in approaches to driver state detection and the potential safety impacts of DMS. The voluntary study would involve recruiting licensed drivers for the following information collections as part of a simulated driving study: (1) an online eligibility questionnaire to determine eligibility for participation; (2) an appointment reminder confirmation process; (3) informed consent form for participation in Track A; (4) informed consent form for participation in Track B; (5) breathalyzer measurements to ensure continued eligibility for the study drives; (6) facial shape and height measurements; (7) sleep and food intake questionnaire; (8) Karolinska Sleepiness Scale measurements; (9) Track A study drives; (10) Track B study drives; and (11) Track B end of visit release agreement . The objective of this simulator driving study is to assess the ability of DMS to assess driver states (e.g., distracted, drowsy) and understand how differences in DMS impact the ability of a system to reliably assess different driving states. This study will add to the state of knowledge by experimentally collecting data to support a full assessment of the factors associated with DMS and the modeling of driver state based on sensor data. Response to the collections of information is voluntary and the information collections are part of a one-time study, although some information collections are collected multiple times per respondent. Respondents are generally healthy individuals aged 18 and older. Efforts will be made to enroll a diverse age sample that broadly represents the age of the driving population and includes those at greater risk of crashing (e.g., less than 25 years of age and greater than 65 years of age). Additional efforts will be made to enroll individuals with diverse skin tones, oversampling those who rate themselves higher on the Fitzpatrick Skin Type Scale. The study will be reviewed and approved by the University of Iowa Institutional Review Board (IRB) before any data collection procedures begin.

The latest form for Examining Distraction and Driver Monitoring Systems to Improve Driver Safety expires 2027-10-31 and can be found here.

Online Eligibility Questionnaire

Federal Enterprise Architecture: Transportation - Ground Transportation

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