Transit bus operator performance and attitudes toward a collision warning system: results of a simulator experiment.

Objective: This article discusses the results of a simulator experiment to examine the efficacy of a collision warning system for transit bus operators.

Methods: Bus operators from a major metropolitan transit agency were assigned to one of three conditions: a collision warning system with a visual-only driver-vehicle interface, a collision warning system with a visual and auditory driver-vehicle interface, or no collision warning system (baseline). Operators were exposed to a critical event at the end of the simulation, in which a vehicle suddenly stopped in front of the bus while the operator was distracted by an in-vehicle task.