Exploring the self-regulation of secondary task engagement in the context of partially automated driving: A pilot study

摘要

During partially automated driving (level 2 in SAE, 2014), an increase in drivers' engagement in secondary tasks was observed even though drivers still need to monitor the road and take over in a timely manner in critical situations. In this situation, how drivers would strategically schedule secondary task processing according to the hazard monitoring demand remains unclear. This paper presents a pilot study applying a simple vigilance task to simulate the monitoring condition during a partially automated driving session. We gained insights on how drivers voluntarily schedule secondary task processing according to the current and anticipatory monitoring demand on a structured three-level manna. Results indicated that participants' anticipation of a higher hazard event rate or a higher urgency level could promote more attention to monitoring the hazard. Furthermore, when the expectation of an upcoming hazard increased, participants allocated more attention to discharge the surveillance role. Finally, a descriptive test-engage-wait-exit model indicated that participants tended to disengage from the secondary task with the anticipation of a more urgent hazard but to continue the secondary task with frequent switching-back for a less urgent hazard. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.