Thirty-six drivers of both genders from three different age groups performed auditory cognitive tasks while driving an instrumented vehicle. The tasks were of two types. The first type of task was the selection of a driving route from a list presented as a recorded sound. These tasks represented the use of In-Vehicle Information Systems (IVIS). The second type of task consisted of a conversation like series of questions designed to replicate the use of a cellular telephone while driving. The IVIS tasks consisted of two levels of information density (short-term memory load) and four element types (complexity levels) including listening, interpretation, planning, and computation. The effects of age, information density, and element type on driving performance were assessed using a composite set of performance measures. Primary measures of driving performance included lateral tracking, longitudinal control and eye glances. Secondary task performance was assessed by task completion time, skipped tasks and task errors. Additionally, subjective assessment was done using a situational awareness probe question and a modified NASA-TLX question set. Results showed that drivers demonstrated a general decrease in their ability to maintain their lateral position with increased task complexity. Additionally, speed and following distance were less stable during tasks. During tasks, drivers glanced less at their mirrors and instruments and left their lane more often than during baseline driving periods. Even during difficult tasks, drivers had high self-confidence in their awareness of surroundings. One result of particular interest was an increase in lane deviations and headway variance coupled with increased forward eye glance durations. It is believed that this is evidence of a condition called "Cognitive Capture" in which a driver, though looking more extensively at the forward roadway, is having difficulty tracking the lead vehicle and lane position. High cognitive load is causing the driver to disregard or shed visual information to allow processing of auditory task-related information. Another result of concern is the inability of drivers to assess their own impairment while performing in vehicle tasks. During tasks drivers demonstrated reduced scanning of mirrors and vehicle instrumentation. This clearly demonstrates reduced situational awareness. Additionally, during tasks lane tracking and headway maintenance performance decreased as well. However, during all tasks drivers assessed their workload higher than baseline driving even though they rated it near the bottom of the scale. Also, drivers perceived no decrease in their situational awareness. The results of this study show that driving performance can be negatively impacted by even fairly simple cognitive tasks while a driver is looking at the road with their hands on the wheel. Even while viewing the road, a driver may perform an auditory task and be cognitively overloaded to the point of safety concerns. An additional concern is that drivers underestimate the degree of their cognitive load and its impact on their driving performance. / Master of Science

<p>At night or in bad weather, the task of driving is very complex since the amount of visual information available is severely reduced. Vision Enhancement Systems may compensate for parts of the missing information by supplying the driver with a picture of the world where warm objects are made visible. This thesis investigates the impact of Vision Enhancement System display types on cognitive capture and driving performance. 16 subjects were recruited for a simulator study. It was hypothesised that when the contrast of a transparent display is high enough for the driver to separate the picture from the background and make out enough details to interpret it, the risk of cognitive capture is higher than when using an opaque display with the same objects visible. The subjects’ driving performance and opinions about the driving experience were also investigated. No significant differences in driving performance or level of cognitive capture was found. However, questionnaire answers indicate that this question needs to be investigated further to find out whether one display type is preferable because of better and safer driving performance or if individual differences between drivers require the possibility to choose the display type of their personal preference.</p>

La présente thèse contribue à la littérature florissante sur la capture du régulateur en approfondissant notre compréhension des phénomènes de la capture cognitive et informationnelle sous de multiples angles. Le manuscrit est partitionné en trois chapitres. Dans un premier chapitre, je développe un modèle théorique afin d'étudier le difficile arbitrage auquel est confronté un dirigeant politique lorsque celui-ci délègue la régulation du système financier. Le choix opéré par le dirigeant politique dépend de son environnement politique et des caractéristiques du domaine réglementé. Dans un second chapitre, je définis des indicateurs de capture du régulateur et les applique à une base de données construite en rassemblant les pratiques de gouvernances et procédures de 42 agences indépendantes. Ce travail a pour but d’évaluer les prévisions du modèle théorique présenté en chapitre 1. Le troisième chapitre a pour objectif d’expliquer les disparités constatées entre agences indépendantes. Des hypothèses concurrentes sont ainsi testées : les explications politiques versus les explications culturelles et historiques. / This dissertation contributes to the thriving literature in regulatory capture deepening our understanding of both cognitive and information capture along multiple lines. In chapter 1, I develop a theoretical model to analyze the difficult trade-off faced by politicians when delegating the regulation of the financial service industry. The model shows that the principal trades off the superior knowledge of the financial experts against their regulatory bias in favor of the regulated industry. Where the principal comes down on this trade-off depends on how complex the regulatory area is, and on how intense the industry’s preferences are. In chapter 2, I define precise indicators of regulatory capture and construct a data set of 42 agencies that allow me to evaluate the expectations of the model. My results show that the race to sophistication and the powers of financial lobbies seem to have influenced agency design: financial regulators better prevent information capture than cognitive capture. In chapter 3, I test two competing hypotheses to explain the disparities in agencies design: political explanations versus historical and culture explanations. I show that agencies’ level of independence and accountability is explained by the credible commitment hypothesis. This hypothesis however fails to explain agencies level of integrity, appearing commonly low.

At night or in bad weather, the task of driving is very complex since the amount of visual information available is severely reduced. Vision Enhancement Systems may compensate for parts of the missing information by supplying the driver with a picture of the world where warm objects are made visible. This thesis investigates the impact of Vision Enhancement System display types on cognitive capture and driving performance. 16 subjects were recruited for a simulator study. It was hypothesised that when the contrast of a transparent display is high enough for the driver to separate the picture from the background and make out enough details to interpret it, the risk of cognitive capture is higher than when using an opaque display with the same objects visible. The subjects’ driving performance and opinions about the driving experience were also investigated. No significant differences in driving performance or level of cognitive capture was found. However, questionnaire answers indicate that this question needs to be investigated further to find out whether one display type is preferable because of better and safer driving performance or if individual differences between drivers require the possibility to choose the display type of their personal preference.