Title: Understanding drivers' latent hazard anticipation in partially automated vehicle systems

Authors: Siby Samuel; Yusuke Yamani; Donald L. Fisher

Addresses: Department of Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, N2L-3G1, Canada ' Department of Psychology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, 23529, USA ' Volpe National Transportation Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA

Abstract: Automated driving systems can support driver performance at varying levels (L2 to L5) but potentially impair attentional performance of drivers. The experiment examined drivers' latent hazard anticipation abilities across three levels of automation, L0, L2 and L3. The study was conducted on a driving simulator and data were collected from 36 young licensed drivers. Data indicated that drivers in the L3 condition were less likely to anticipate latent hazards than those in the L0 condition. However, data showed no reliable differences in the latent hazard anticipation for drivers between the L2 and L0 conditions and between L2 and L3 conditions. The results imply that drivers of high-level vehicle automation may display diminished ability to anticipate imminent hazard on the forward roadway. Additional studies need to be conducted to further understand changes in the mechanisms of drivers' latent hazard anticipation ability across different levels of vehicle automation. Better understanding of changes in drivers' latent hazard anticipation can lead to the design of effective countermeasures to support drivers' latent hazard anticipation in automated driving systems.

Keywords: vehicle automation; latent hazard anticipation; driving simulation; eye movements; partially automated systems.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHFE.2020.110093

International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics, 2020 Vol.7 No.3, pp.282 - 296

Received: 19 Feb 2020
Accepted: 01 Jul 2020
Published online: 05 Oct 2020 *

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