Power Steering Assist Failures: Driver Behavior, Safety Impacts, and Implications for Automated Vehicles

摘要

Drivers learn to trust the systems in their vehicles and do not anticipate failures. The objective of this studywas to investigate whether or not drivers can safely handle a vehicle when there is a sudden, unexpectedshut down of power assisted steering. Forty drivers, ten in each of four vehicles, drove on a controlled road.Results indicated that the majority of drivers could not safely complete a low speed right turn when powerassisted steering suddenly failed in a cornering scenario. Drivers viewed this as a dangerous safety issueand indicated that the risk of such a failure was unacceptable. Results highlight the importance of includingreal users in safety assessments to gain a more accurate understanding of the consequences of vehiclesystem failures. They also shed light on some potential challenges for automation failures on future vehiclesystems.