Application of Geofence for Safe Interaction with Emergency Vehicles

Abstract: The aim of the thesis was to investigate if geofence instructions communicated via an in-vehicle human-machine interface (HMI) can have a positive impact on driver behavior when interacting with emergency vehicles. A total of n = 64 study participants were tested in a driving simulator on two different use cases without or with applied geofence instructions. The use cases were situated on an off-ramp and at an intersection. The results of the experiment demonstrated a statistically significant effect of the use of geofencing on the correct and timely reactions of drivers prior to the interaction with emergency vehicles. Furthermore, the use of geofencing indicated a potential to decrease collision risks and driving time of emergency vehicles. Although the HMI design needs to be improved for real-world geofence application, the study participants were positive about receiving the geofence instructions when interacting with emergency vehicles in their own vehicles in the future.