Exploring driving anger-caused impairment of takeover performance among professional taxi drivers during partially automated driving

Abstract

Partially automated systems are expected to reduce road crashes related to human error, even amongst professional drivers. Consequently, the applications of these systems into the taxi industry would potentially improve transportation safety. However, taxi drivers are prone to experiencing driving anger, which may subsequently affect their takeover performance. In this research, we explored how driving anger emotion affects taxi drivers’ driving performance in various takeover scenarios, namely Mandatory Automation-Initiated transition (MAIT), Mandatory Driver-Initiated transition (MDIT), and Optional Driver-Initiated transition (ODIT). Forty-seven taxi drivers participated in this 2·3 mixed design simulator experiment (between-subjects: anger vs. calmness; within-subjects: MAIT vs. MDIT vs. ODIT). Compared to calmness, driving anger emotion led to a narrower field of attention (e.g., smaller standard deviations of horizontal fixation points position) and worse hazard perception (e.g., longer saccade latency, smaller amplitude of skin conductance responses), which resulted in longer takeover time and inferior vehicle control stability (e.g., higher standard deviations of lateral position) in MAIT and MDIT scenarios. Angry taxi drivers were more likely to deactivate vehicle automation and take over the vehicle in a more aggressive manner (e.g., higher maximal resulting acceleration, refusing to yield to other road users) in ODIT scenarios. The findings will contribute to addressing the safety concerns related to driving anger among professional taxi drivers and promote the widespread acceptance and integration of partially automated systems within the taxi industry.