Impact of Smart Phones’ Interaction Modality on Driving Performance for Conventional and Autonomous Vehicles

Details

• Creators:
  Favaro, Francesca M
• Corporate Creators:
  Mineta Transportation Institute ; San Jose State University. College of Business
• Contributors:
  Derichs, Marcel ; Eurich, Sky ; Rizvi, Syeda ; Akthar, Sara ; Agarwal, Shivangi ; Davtyan, Kristina ; Nader, Nazanin ; Behzad, Kiarash ; Mahmood, Sumaid
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program ; United States. Department of Transportation. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Autonomous Vehicle Handover Distraction Driver Performance Intelligent Vehicles Reaction Time Text Messaging Traffic Safety
• Publication/ Report Number:
  20-04
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.31979/mti.2020.1813
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Final Report
• Corporate Publisher:
  Mineta Transportation Institute
• Abstract:
  Distracted driving related to cell phone usage ranks among the top three causes of fatal crashes on the road. Although forty-eight of 50 U.S. states allow the use of personal devices if operated hands-free and secured in the vehicle, scientific studies have yet to quantify the safety improvement presumed to be introduced by voice-to-text interactions. Thus, this study investigated how different modes of interaction of drivers with a smart phone (i.e., manual texting vs. vocal input) affect drivers’ distraction and performance in both conventional and semi-autonomous vehicles. The study was executed in a full-car integrated simulator and tested a population of 32 drivers. The study considered two scenarios: (1) conventional manual driving in a suburban environment with intersection stops; and (2) control takeover from an engaged autonomous vehicle that reverted to manual driving at a highway exit. The quality of execution of maneuvers as well as timing and tracking of eye-gaze focus areas were assessed in both scenarios. Results demonstrated that while participants perceived an increased level of safety while using the hands-free interface, response times and drift did not significantly differ from those manually texting. Furthermore, even though participants perceived a greater effort in accomplishing the text reply through the manual interface, none of the measured quantities for driving performance or eye-gaze focus revealed statistical difference between the two interfaces, ultimately calling into question the assumption of greater safety implicit in the laws allowing hands-free devices.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  69A3551747127
• Collection(s):
  University Transportation Centers Autonomous Vehicles
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6a6d6fc8ccc90949d903cd9f86c2122a8ae796f71c76bb36efe70066c39cc6266e68d2039163a041f05f79552f95c73aa52281db56009754f20887ade207836a
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/62054/dot_62054_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 5.87 MB ]