The latest body of research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that drivers who use ADAS features grow comfortable with the technology over time, but the degree of that comfort could raise potential concerns. In essence, drivers who engaged with common ADAS features began to lower their overall attention to the driving task as the study went on. This September 2023 study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety follows an August 2023 study that examined the lifesaving potential of ADAS features in the decades ahead.
“The potential lifesaving benefits of vehicle safety technologies are maximized only when drivers keep them on and use them correctly,” said Jake Nelson, AAA’s director of traffic safety advocacy, about the September 2023 research. “These study results help illuminate the important and sometimes irrational ways we as drivers interact with technology.”
Study Methodology
The study, which examined ADAS use over time, involved 30 participants without prior vehicle automation experience. The idea was to expose them to lower levels of vehicle automation (Level 2), which requires supervision and intervention in safety-critical situations. As described by AAA in its summary report, the consequences of these technologies on driver behavior require further observation, especially as real-world testing is less common in research studies.
Each participant was driving a vehicle equipped with Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keeping Assist, two ubiquitous systems readily available on nearly every late-model car today. In a controlled experimental trial, participants drove under manual and automation modes on two sections of highway with varying driving demands. AAA researchers took assessments before, during, and after the drives to gauge behavior and attitudes toward the ADAS features used in the study.
“This is important because these systems can actively control parts of the driving task but also call on drivers to monitor the traffic environment and intervene when necessary – something that humans are not good at, as decades of research on vigilance has shown us,” explained Dr. William Horrey, technical director for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “In this study, we wanted to see how drivers’ interactions, experiences, and perceptions of these systems changed as they gained more experience with them.”
Key Findings
Among the study’s key takeaways is how drivers do become comfortable with ADAS over time but, interestingly enough, are less likely to rely on the technologies during high-demand situations. For example, during heavy traffic or inclement weather, drivers in the study were less likely to engage the Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keeping Assist features, opting to drive the vehicle themselves. AAA researchers noted that drivers had a higher probability of resuming their usage of the ADAS features when weather conditions were favorable, and traffic volumes were lower.
As time continued over the six to eight-week period, the number of attention warnings increased, suggesting as each participant became more familiar with the ADAS features, there was a greater tendency to participate in non-driving activities. This finding raises the question of how prepared a driver would (or would not) be to take back control of the vehicle should the situation call for it. AAA researchers noted that as time went on and as experience with the technology increased, participants were more willing to relinquish control of the car without monitoring the ADAS features as closely, which explains the more frequent attention warnings.
“We need to continue to push for better and clearer information about these systems for consumers, especially regarding system functions and limitations,” Dr. Horrey said. “It is also important to design systems to be easy to use and transparent for drivers so they know exactly what mode the system is in and why it is behaving in a particular manner.”
Safety-Centric Perspective
These key findings are important as the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety conducted the study to examine driver workload and attention, certain in-vehicle behaviors, and perceptions and attitudes regarding ADAS. Whether the findings come as surprising or not is likely up to the individual reading the study, but it’s important, either way, to frame the results according to a long-term, safety-centric perspective.
“We should all be mindful that consumers’ experiences with new technology will evolve over time, and so we need to conduct and learn from these sorts of longitudinal studies, especially those that examine actual on-road behaviors,” Dr. Horrey said. “Knowing that perceptions and behaviors will change, driver monitoring systems may be a valuable in-road to helping curb driver inattention or misuse of systems.”
Although participants were more likely to use the ADAS features in this study in low-demand environments, the overall sentiment towards the technology was positive. AAA researchers wrote in the summary report that participants pointed to lower stress levels and more driving enjoyment. While potentially good news and perhaps a cautiously optimistic sign that ADAS development is headed in the right direction, past AAA research shows a knowledge gap between consumers and the technology. Among AAA’s most vital efforts, alongside other respected industry partners, is the continued urging for OEMs to adopt a standard ADAS naming convention.
More Information
In the meantime, AAA advises consumers to become familiar with their vehicles. Other helpful resources include MyCarDoesWhat.org, operated by the National Safety Council with support from partners like the University of Iowa. “We encourage owners of vehicles equipped with these sorts of technology to take some time to learn about them, how to operate them, and more importantly, when not to operate them,” Dr. Horrey said. “Today’s technology is intended to assist drivers, not replace them.”
The summary report from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety titled, A Multi-Method Approach to Understanding Drivers’ Experiences and Behavior Under Partial Vehicle Automation, is available via PDF. Other relevant and relatively recent AAA studies include the effectiveness of a “learn as you go” approach for drivers new to ADAS and how dangerous driving behaviors have continued to increase.
