First Passenger

Semester Project for Interaction Design

Mentor: Asst. Prof. Keyur Sorathia | DoD, IITG | 2014

In the First Passenger project of Interaction Design course, we have tried to identify the major causes of road accidents through design research methods. Then we have narrowed down on one of the many causes and tried to provide a solution in our capacity to reduce the rising number of deaths every year in road accidents.

CAUSES OF ROAD ACCIDENTS

A maximum of road accidents are caused by human error. The project specification called for a review of the following causes

Over Speeding
Drunken Driving
Distractions to Driver

DISTRACTIONS TO DRIVER

The distraction while driving could be minor but it can cause major accidents. Distractions could be outside or inside the vehicle. The major distraction nowadays is talking on mobile while driving. The act of talking on the phone occupies a major portion of the brain and the smaller part handles the driving skills.

Some of the distractions on the road are

Stereo/Radio in vehicle
Animals roaming on the road
Banners and billboards
Adjusting mirrors while driving

CONDUCTING USER INTERVIEWS

Based on the persona hypothesis, users such as bus drivers, cab drivers, etc. of different age groups were interviewed. These interviews were then analyzed to gain insight into the general behavior of the drivers.

AFFINITY ANALYSIS

The statements made by the users were examined and observed. The interviews were compiled and were put up in paper to analyze the users’ statements. A problem point was arrived upon which needed the call for action.

Problem Statement:

There are many road accidents because of lots of distractions while driving four wheeler vehicles that does not allow the driver to concentrate.

Goals that needs to be achieved - Stay focused while driving
Persona (target users) - DRIVERS of 4-wheeler vehicle
Situation/problem that is eliminated - Distractions while driving
Possible results that will help the situation to improve - Reduce the number of Road accidents
Tasks given in the product to achieve goals - Reminding their duty

Product Overview

After conducting the affinity analysis, we saw that the problem was distraction which generally leads to accidents on the road. ‘First Passenger’ is our attempt in alerting distracted drivers of vehicles and thus preventing road accidents.

Apart from alerting distracted drivers the product also displays vital information like air pressure inside the tires of the vehicles.

Conclusion

First Passenger if developed can help reduce accidents to a great extent as distraction is one of the major reasons for the death of people on the road. We have tried to provide a solution to this problem of distraction by using research methods such as user interviews, affinity analysis, etc. and prototyping the product First Passenger.

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