Driver distraction has been identified as the most important contributing factor in rear-end collisions. In this context, Forward Collision Warning Systems (FCWS) have been developed specifically to warn drivers of potential rear-end collisions. The main objective of this work is to evaluate the impact of a surrogate FCWS and of its reliability according to the driver's attentional state by recording both behavioural and electrophysiological data. Participants drove following a lead motorcycle in a simplified simulator with a warning system when they were undistracted or distracted by a cognitive secondary task. Behavioural and electrophysiological data contributed to revealing a positive effect of the warning system. Performance and information processing at neural level were considerably affected by the secondary task; however the warning system seems to reduce the negative impact of the dual task. Nevertheless this effect seems due to a facilitation of the processing in simple task rather than a facilitation in dual task. Electrophysiological data could be a valuable tool to complement behavioural data and to gain a better understanding of how these systems impact the driver.
