Driver adaptation to lane keeping assistance systems: Do drivers become less vigilant?

Abstract

Driver adaptation to semi-autonomous vehicles is examined in this study using a longitudinal driving simulator study with 18 subjects randomly assigned to a control (n = 9) and treatment (n = 9) group. A Tactile Detection Response Task (TDRT) was used to measure cognitive workload while drivers engaged in visual-manual distracting tasks using an in-vehicle information system, with and without a lane-keeping assistance system (baseline, intervention, and withdrawal period). Measures of miss rate and reaction time to the TDRT stimuli suggest that drivers in both groups showed decreases in cognitive workload as they gained experience. Participants in the treatment group experienced higher cognitive workload when the lane keeping assistance system was withdrawn. On average, there were greater decreases in cognitive workload over time for the difficult tasks as compared to the easy tasks for both the control and treatment groups. The effect was more pronounced in the control group with larger decreases in cognitive workload. The NASA TLX was also comparable to the task accuracy. These results suggest that adaptations in driver behavior due to exposure to automation may have transfer effects on cognitive workload and thus may lead to safety implications.