Influence of bicyclist presence on driver performance during automated vehicle take-over requests

摘要

One proposed benefit of automated vehicles (AVs) is their potential to mitigate the occurrence of serious crashes due to human error or poor decision making while driving. However, there are still many concerns associated with the use of SAE Level 3 AVs, which require intervention by a human driver after a take-over request (TOR). These concerns intensify when vulnerable road users, such as bicyclists, are introduced to the driving environment. The objective of this research was to investigate how human drivers of AVs interact with bicyclists during a right-turn maneuver after receiving a TOR. Changes in driver performance, including visual attention and crash avoidance behavior, were measured by using a high-fidelity driving simulator, with 43 participants each completing 18 right-turn maneuvers. Three independent variables were studied: the bicyclist's proximity to the intersection, the driver's proximity from the intersection when the TOR was received, and the driver's engagement in a distracting secondary task (a game on a tablet). In general, the results showed that the introduction of the secondary task led to decreased driver performance with respect to time-to-collision and the time that it took a driver to first identify the bicyclist on the roadway. When given more time to react before the intersection, drivers generally had safer interactions with the bicyclist. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.