As vehicle automation proliferates, the current emphasis on preventing driver distraction needs to transition to maintaining driver availability. During automated driving, vehicle operators are likely to use brought-in devices to access entertainment and information. Do these media devices need to be controlled by the vehicle in order to manage driver attention? In a driving simulation study ( N=48) investigating driver performance shortly after transitions from automated to human control, we found that participants watching videos or reading on a tablet were far less likely (6% versus 27%) to exhibit behaviors indicative of drowsiness than when overseeing the automated driving system; irrespective of the pre-driving activity, post- transition driving performance after a five-second structured handoff was not impaired. There was not a significant difference in collision avoidance reaction time or minimum headway distance between supervision and media consumption conditions, irrespective of whether messages were presented on the tablet device, or only presented on the instrument panel, or whether there was a single or two-stage handoff.

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Summary:As vehicle automation becomes more capable and prevalent, an understanding of how drivers will interact with automation systems of varying capabilities will be of critical importance. In this study, we compare the performance of drivers on takeover of control from varying types of automation systems (single-function and combined function). Participants drove a 20-minute course with sections of automated driving, and with several traffic events designed to elicit a driver response. Structured transfers of control between automated and manual driving modes occurred following a 7-second countdown at fixed locations on the course. Significant differences were found between groups in terms of lanekeeping ability immediately after taking control following a period of automated vehicle control or partial driver/automation control, but significant differences were not found in accident evasion ability, even five seconds after resuming full control.

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