Cross-cultural study on vehicle horn use as a communication tool for drivers

• Project/Area Number: 25560005
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Design science
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: TAKADA MASAYUKI 九州大学, 芸術工学研究科(研究院), 助教 (40315156)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2014)
• Budget Amount: ¥2,990,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥690,000); Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000); Fiscal Year 2013: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
• Keywords: 警笛 / ドライバー / 歩行者 / 音環境 / 社会調査 / デザイン / 意識調査 / 使用意図 / 吹鳴パターン / 心理的反応 / 交通行動モデル / 韓国 / 国際情報交換 / 騒音レベル / 実測調査

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We have previously carried out questionnaire surveys to investigate the current state of vehicle horn use in Japan. Several cities in other countries also face noise problems relating to the use of horns. Our survey design will provide information on the reasons for vehicle horn use in such areas, which can subsequently be used to design countermeasures to reduce any adverse effects. Therefore, similar surveys were conducted to investigate the current state and driver awareness of vehicle horn use in urban areas of South Korea.
Noise measurements at the roadside of a crossroad in Seoul revealed that drivers frequently used their horns in urban South Korea. The totaled results of questionnaire surveys show that when honked at, pedestrians had a more negative psychological reaction than drivers. The cross tabulation also showed that drivers who did not usually use horns did use a brief honk for the purpose of alerting another to danger and gaining another's attention through necessity.

Research Products

• [Presentation] Survey on vehicle horn use in South Korea (2015)
  • Author(s): Satoshi Suzuki, Masayuki Takada, Ki-Hong Kim, Shin-ichiro Iwamiya
  • Organizer: Kyushu-Youngnam Joint Conference on Acoustics 2015
  • Place of Presentation: Nagasaki University
  • Year and Date: 2015-01-10
• [Presentation] 韓国における自動車の警笛の使用に関する状況調査 (2014)
  • Author(s): 高田正幸, 鈴木聡司, 金基弘, 岩宮眞一郎
  • Organizer: 日本音響学会騒音・振動研究会
  • Place of Presentation: 金沢工業大学扇が丘キャンパス
  • Year and Date: 2014-11-28
• [Presentation] Survey on vehicle horn use in urban areas of Korea (2014)
  • Author(s): Masayuki Takada, Satoshi Suzuki, Ki-Hong Kim, Shin-ichiro Iwamiya
  • Organizer: 43rd International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering (INTER NOISE 2014)
  • Place of Presentation: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
  • Year and Date: 2014-11-16 – 2014-11-19
• [Presentation] 韓国における自動車の警笛に関する意識調査 (2014)
  • Author(s): 鈴木聡司, 高田正幸, 金基弘, 岩宮眞一郎
  • Organizer: 日本音響学会2014年秋季研究発表会
  • Place of Presentation: 北海学園大学豊平キャンパス
  • Year and Date: 2014-09-03 – 2014-09-05