I gave a [talk](/pubs/Reed Passenger Behavior Updated 2020-02.pdf) at the SAE Government/Industry meeting in DC this month highlighting [preliminary results from a large-scale study of passenger behavior](/pubs/Reed Passenger Behavior Updated 2020-02.pdf). In spite of widespread speculation in the industry and media about what passengers in future automated vehicles will do, very little published research focuses on adult passenger postures and activities. To address this gap, we recruited 75 people who regularly drive with passengers and instrumented the vehicles with interior cameras. I presented results from 57 of the vehicles. Among the interesting findings: talking and phone use are the most common front-seat passenger activities and resting (eyes closed) is relatively uncommon, only about 3% of the time. We also recorded seat position and seat back angle. We found that the front passenger seat was positioned full rear about 23% of the time, with the seat rearward of mid-track 81% of the time. We found no relationship between seat position and body size, unlike the case for drivers. We also found very few highly reclined postures. The seat back angle was greater than 35 degrees less than 1% of the time.
January 2020
SAE Govt/Industry: Passenger Posture and Behavior
