Can Drivers Become Too Comfortable With ADAS?

[00:00:00] My name is Carl Anthony and I work in the automotive industry in Detroit.

[00:00:07] Sometimes that work encompasses future vehicle technology and that's what we talk about here,

[00:00:12] for the most part anyway.

[00:00:14] This is AutoVision News Radio.

[00:00:19] The latest body of research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that drivers who

[00:00:25] use ADAS features grow comfortable with the technology over time but the degree of

[00:00:30] that comfort could raise potential concerns.

[00:00:34] In essence, drivers who engaged with common ADAS features begin to lower their overall

[00:00:39] attention to the driving task as the study went on.

[00:00:43] This was a September 2023 study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety which followed

[00:00:49] an August 2023 study that examined the life-saving potential of ADAS features in the decades

[00:00:56] ahead.

[00:00:57] I'll leave a link to that study in the show notes.

[00:00:59] Join me now as we recap this latest study from AAA, no guest today.

[00:01:05] Just me in your ear this time around on AutoVision News Radio available on Spotify, Apple

[00:01:10] Podcast, Podbean and more.

[00:01:12] From ADAS to electrification, this is AutoVision News Radio with Carl Anthony in Detroit,

[00:01:18] Michigan.

[00:01:19] AAA's study examined ADAS use over time and involved 30 participants without any

[00:01:24] prior vehicle automation experience.

[00:01:27] The idea was to expose them to Level 2 automation, lower levels of vehicle automation which requires

[00:01:33] supervision and then intervention in safety critical situations.

[00:01:37] As described by AAA in its summary report, the consequences of these technologies on driver

[00:01:42] behavior require further observation especially as real world testing is less common in

[00:01:47] research studies.

[00:01:49] Each participant was driving a vehicle equipped with adaptive cruise control and lane keeping

[00:01:54] assist, two ubiquitous systems readily available on nearly every late model car today.

[00:02:00] In a controlled experimental trial, participants drove under manual and automation modes on

[00:02:05] two sections of highway with varying driving demands.

[00:02:09] AAA researchers took assessments before, during and after the drives to gauge behavior and

[00:02:15] attitudes towards the ADAS features that were used in the study.

[00:02:19] Dr. William Horry, technical director of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety provided

[00:02:24] us with some additional perspective saying quote, this is important because these systems

[00:02:29] can actively control parts of the driving task but also call on drivers to monitor the

[00:02:34] traffic environment and intervene when necessary.

[00:02:38] Something that humans are not good at as decades of research on vigilance has

[00:02:43] shown us.

[00:02:44] Dr. Horry continued by saying quote in this study we wanted to see how drivers

[00:02:48] interactions, experiences and perceptions of these systems changed as they gained more

[00:02:54] experience with them.

[00:02:56] Among the study's key findings is how drivers do become comfortable with ADAS over time

[00:03:01] but interestingly enough they are less likely to rely on the technologies during high

[00:03:06] demand situations.

[00:03:08] For example, during heavy traffic or in bad weather, drivers in the study were

[00:03:13] less likely to engage the adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assist features

[00:03:18] opting to drive the vehicle themselves.

[00:03:20] AAA researchers noted that drivers had a higher probability of resuming their usage

[00:03:25] of the ADAS features when weather conditions were favorable and traffic volumes

[00:03:29] were lower.

[00:03:30] As things progressed over the six to eight week period, the number of attention

[00:03:34] warnings increased suggesting that as each participant became more familiar with

[00:03:39] the ADAS features there was a greater tendency to participate in non-driving

[00:03:44] or non-monitoring activities.

[00:03:47] This raises the question we've talked about before of how prepared a driver would or

[00:03:51] would not be to take back control of the vehicle should the situation call for it.

[00:03:56] AAA researchers noted that as time went on and as experience with the technology

[00:04:01] increased participants were more willing to relinquish control of the car without

[00:04:06] monitoring the ADAS features as closely, which does explain the more frequent

[00:04:11] attention warnings.

[00:04:13] With additional insight to these findings, Dr. Horry said quote we need to continue to

[00:04:17] push for better and clearer information about these systems for consumers,

[00:04:22] especially regarding system functions and limitations.

[00:04:25] Dr. Horry continued by saying it's also important to design systems to be easy

[00:04:30] to use and transparent for drivers so they know exactly what mode the system is

[00:04:34] in and why it is behaving in a particular manner.

[00:04:38] The AAA foundation conducted this study to examine driver workload

[00:04:41] and attention along with certain in vehicle behaviors and perceptions and

[00:04:45] attitudes regarding ADAS.

[00:04:48] Now whether the findings come as surprising or not is likely up to the

[00:04:52] individual who's reading the study, but it's important either way to frame

[00:04:56] the results according to a long term safety centric perspective.

[00:05:00] Dr. Horry offered this insight saying quote we should all be mindful that

[00:05:04] consumers experiences with new technology will evolve over time and so we need

[00:05:09] to conduct and learn from these sorts of longitudinal studies,

[00:05:12] especially those that examine actual on-road behaviors.

[00:05:16] Dr. Horry added saying quote knowing that perceptions and behaviors will change,

[00:05:21] driver monitoring systems may be a valuable in-road to helping curb driver

[00:05:26] inattention or misuse of systems.

[00:05:29] Although participants in this study were more likely to use the ADAS features

[00:05:33] in low demand environments, the overall sentiment towards the technology was

[00:05:38] AAA researchers noted in their summary report that each of the participants

[00:05:42] pointed to lower stress levels and more driving enjoyment.

[00:05:46] While potentially good news and perhaps a cautiously optimistic sign that

[00:05:50] ADAS development is headed in the right direction, past AAA research

[00:05:54] does show a knowledge gap between consumers and the technology.

[00:05:58] Among AAA's most vital efforts alongside other respected industry

[00:06:02] partners is the continued urging for OEMs to adopt a standard

[00:06:06] ADAS naming convention.

[00:06:08] I'll leave links in the show notes that talk more about that.

[00:06:12] In the meantime, AAA advises consumers to become familiar with their vehicles.

[00:06:17] Other helpful resources include MyCardDoesWhat.org.

[00:06:21] I'll leave a link in the show notes which is operated by the National

[00:06:24] Safety Council with support from partners like the University of Iowa.

[00:06:28] With a final perspective, Dr. Horry said quote we encourage owners

[00:06:31] of vehicles equipped with these sorts of technologies to take some time

[00:06:35] to learn about them, how to operate them and more importantly

[00:06:39] when not to operate them.

[00:06:41] Dr. Horry added saying today's technology is intended to assist drivers

[00:06:45] not replace them.

[00:06:46] I will leave a link in the show notes to the summary report from

[00:06:49] the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

[00:06:52] The full study was titled a multi-method approach to

[00:06:55] understanding drivers' experiences and behavior under partial vehicle automation.

[00:07:00] Reporting in Detroit, Carl Anthony, AutoVision News Radio.