Emergency vehicles are at increased traffic risk due to legal exemptions like speeding or running red lights during emergencies. These exemptions can cause delays and complications in their response. The study explored if warning messages to passenger car drivers, particularly the EVA (Emergency Vehicle Approaching) message, with or without ambient lighting, could improve safety and response. A driving simulator experiment with 60 participants tested the impact of different levels of warning, including the EVA message and augmented ambient lighting (AEL). Participants also completed pre- and post-experiment questionnaires. The test involved a rural road scenario with background music to challenge emergency vehicle detection. Results showed significant behavioural differences between drivers receiving no warning and those receiving either form of warning, but no significant difference between the two warned groups. While attitudes towards this technology were positive, further research on the effectiveness of ambient lighting is needed. / <p>Examensarbetet är utfört vid Institutionen för teknik och naturvetenskap (ITN) vid Tekniska fakulteten, Linköpings universitet</p>

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. / <p>Examensarbetet är utfört vid Institutionen för teknik och naturvetenskap (ITN) vid Tekniska fakulteten, Linköpings universitet</p>