The monitoring requests on young driver's fatigue and take-over performance in prolonged conditional automated driving

Juan Yin; Haipeng Shao; Xinjie Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.jsr.2023.11.015

The monitoring requests on young driver's fatigue and take-over performance in prolonged conditional automated driving

J Safety Res. 2024 Feb:88:285-292. doi: 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.11.015. Epub 2023 Dec 1.

Authors

Juan Yin¹, Haipeng Shao², Xinjie Zhang³

Affiliations

¹ College of Civil Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou 014010, China; Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Civil Engineering Safety and Durability Key Laboratory, China; Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Building Structure Disaster Prevention and Reduction Engineering Research Center, China. Electronic address: 2022046@imust.edu.cn.
² College of Transportation Engineering, Chang'an University, Xi'an 710064, China.
³ College of Civil Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou 014010, China; Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Civil Engineering Safety and Durability Key Laboratory, China; Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Building Structure Disaster Prevention and Reduction Engineering Research Center, China.

PMID: 38485370
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.11.015

Abstract

Introduction: L3 automated vehicles can perform all dynamic driving tasks unless a take-over occurs due to operational limits. This issue is potentially important for young drivers who are vulnerable road users since they have skill deficits and easily evolve into aberrant driving. However, drivers lacking active involvement may be fatigued and drowsy. Previous research indicated that performing a voluntary non-driving-related task (NDRT) could keep drivers alert, but there was no difference in take-over performance with or without NDRT. Providing a monitoring request (MR) before a possible take-over request (TOR) exhibited better take-over performance in temporary automated driving. Therefore, the study aimed to investigate the effects of MR and voluntary NDRT on young drivers' fatigue and performance.

Method: Twenty-five young drivers experienced 60 min automated driving on a highway with low traffic density and a TOR prompted due to a collision event. A within-subjects was designed that comprised three conditions: NONE, TOR-only, and MR + TOR. Drivers were allowed to perform a self-paced phone NDRT during automated driving.

Results: The PERCLOS and blink frequency data showed that playing phones could keep drivers vigilant. The take-over performance on whether taking phone had no difference, but with MRs condition exhibited better take-over performance including the shorter reaction time and the longer TTC. Subjective evaluations also showed the advantages of MRs with more safety, trust, acceptance, and lower workload.

Conclusions: Taking MRs had a positive effect on relieving fatigue and improving take-over performance. Furthermore, MRs could potentially improve the safety and acceptance of automated driving.

Practical applications: The MR design can be used in the automotive industry to ensure the safest interfaces between fatigue drivers and automation systems.

Keywords: Acceptance; Automated driving; PERCLOS; Phone using; Trust.

MeSH terms

Accidents, Traffic
Automation
Automobile Driving*
Fatigue / prevention & control
Humans
Reaction Time
Wakefulness