A vehicle system comprises at least one environmental sensor for collecting traffic information, and a processing device for receiving said information 605, generating a traffic complexity index 615 based at least in part on the traffic information, comparing the traffic complexity index to a predetermined threshold 620, and generating a traffic alert signal if the traffic complexity index exceeds the predetermined threshold 625. The traffic complexity index may be also be based on longitudinal and latitudinal complexity values, and the traffic complexity index may be generated by aggregating these two values. The processing device may be programmed to weigh the lateral complexity value greater than the longitudinal complexity value, or vice versa. The traffic information may include information associated with movement of surrounding vehicles, weighed based on a proximity of a surrounding vehicle to the host vehicle, so that closer vehicles have a greater weight. The system may also comprise a user interface device for presenting an audible, visual and/or tactile alert. The processing device may further be programmed to predict driving demand based on the traffic complexity index.
Traffic complexity estimation