Driver Distraction and Automated Vehicle Takeover in Emergency Situations

Sunday - October 15 2023, 18:13 UTC - 1 year ago

Data on activities that will be unsafe for drivers of automated vehicles has been released. Level 3 and 4 automated driving require drivers to assume control in emergency situations, and this data can be used to inform the regulations put in place for such vehicles. Research found that drivers' responses were worse after working, resting or using social media for a short or long period of time.

Early data on activities that will be unsafe to undertake in automated vehicles has been released. From doing work to watching the world, from social media to resting – preliminary results are in.

A study led by RMIT University investigated the scenarios where a driver needs to instantly assume control of an autonomous vehicle, especially during emergencies. This collection of studies delves into the influence of experience and three forms of distractions—work-related, social media, and relaxation—on the driver’s reaction capabilities.

Study lead author in the School of Engineering, Dr. Neng Zhang, said authorities need to begin drafting policies to regulate the responsible use of automated vehicles before Level 3 and 4 automated vehicles appear on Australian roads. While the National Transport Commission has outlined a regulatory framework for automated vehicles in Australia, driver training, licensing, and obligations are still being considered.

There are five levels of vehicle automation. Already, Level 1 and Level 2 are common through features such as lane keeping, automated parking, and cruise control. More advanced automated vehicles – what we think of when we say ‘driverless cars’ – are currently being trialled but are not yet commercially available in Australia.

"In Level 3 and 4 automated driving, the human driver will still need to respond in an emergency, taking control of the vehicle," said Zhang. "This data is a starting place for regulation and could lead to data-backed legislation that ensures drivers are given enough time to respond quickly and flawlessly to emergency events." .

Using a Level 3 automated vehicle simulation, the researchers tested participants’ speed and effectiveness in taking over the vehicle in the event of an emergency.

"We had them writing business emails (working condition), watching videos (entertaining condition), and taking a break with their eyes closed (resting condition)," said Zhang. "These tasks required drivers to invest high, moderate, and low levels of mental workload. We tested their responses after a short interval (5 minutes) or long interval (30 minutes) of participating in one of these tasks. All of these tasks worsened the takeover and led to a period of poorer driving.

"We found that resting resulted in the worst takeover response, followed by working. Social media was less disruptive. However, the longer the participant engaged in an activity, the worse their response was to an emergency." .

The cross-disciplinary research team brought together RMIT expertise in human body vibration, automotive engineering, and cognitive psychology from the School of Engineering, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, and School of Science.

Biomedical researcher and author on the papers, Professor Stephen Robinson, warned that emergencies require a high level of cognition.

"As soon as something unexpected happens, such as a child running across the road, we need to be able to use our full cognitive abilities to assess the situation and take appropriate action," said Robinson. "Takeover requests in automated vehicles occur when the onboard computer lacks the capacity to safely ‘see’ the environment around it and predict future scenarios." .