| dc.description.abstract | Is there a difference in behavior when drivers start driving from a stationary position such as being parked compared to when they take over control from an autonomous driving car? In the stationary situation, drivers are initially standing still and moving after. This might be a bigger change in the driving context compared to the difference between autonomous driving and manual driving, where both scenarios entail a moving vehicle with just manual control as change of context. If drivers are distracted while being in an autonomous moving vehicle and got used to the fact that they can, the smaller difference between autonomous driving and manual driving might lower the urge to stop attending the distraction. That is, drivers might have gotten habituated to distraction in a moving vehicle and could remain distracted, even when they take over and drive manually. In our study we try to explore this behavioral adaptation effect by comparing a situation where adaptation could play a role (taking over from autonomous vehicle) to a situation where it could not (driving away after being stationary). Participants drove a straight highway in a simulator and were asked to take over driving after autonomous driving or after being stationary for 2 minutes. During the whole experiment distracting videos played on a laptop next to the steering wheel. Participants looked more towards the road while the car was driving autonomously compared to when the car was stationary. Surprisingly, drivers showed no difference in driving performance and gazes toward distraction after taking over compared to starting after being stationary. This result suggests that despite a difference in the amount of attention dedicated to the road before taking over, switching to manual driving is similar to simply starting to drive within the presented context. Our results indicate that, upon take-over, drivers seem to equally disengage from the distraction for both taking over and starting to drive. There is no sign of lasting adaptation considering distraction when taking over from an already moving vehicle. | |
