Seeing Beyond the Leading Vehicle: Designing V2V Braking Visualizations to Support Novice Drivers

For novice drivers, highway driving often makes it challenging to anticipate sudden braking events and adapt to the dynamic nature of traffic conditions. Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technologies offer a promising solution by providing beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) braking information, enhancing situational awareness and reducing collision risks. This study evaluates the effectiveness of two visualization strategies for V2V-based braking information: (1) braking cues from the indirect vehicle (ILV-HMI), and (2) upstream traffic flow braking information (UTF-HMI). Both were compared to a baseline condition (NO HMI) without additional information. A controlled driving simulator experiment with 24 novice drivers assessed driving safety, driving performance, cognitive load, and usability. Results show that ILV-HMI significantly improves safety margins, reduces cognitive load, and enhances usability compared to NO HMI and UTF-HMI. These findings highlight the advantages of V2V-based braking visualization in improving novice drivers’ decision-making, easing cognitive load, and enhancing traffic safety.