Exploring Driver Responses to Authoritative Control Interventions in Highly Automated Driving

Future automated driving systems (ADS) are discussed as having the ability to "override" driver control inputs. Yet, little is known about how drivers respond to this, nor how a human-machine interaction (HMI) for them should be designed. This work identifies intervention types associated with an ADS that has change control authority and outlines an experiment method which simulates a deficit in driver situation awareness, enabling the study of their responses to interventions in a controlled environment. In a simulator study (N = 18), it was found that drivers express more negative valence when their control input is blocked (p = .046) than when it is taken away. In safety-critical scenarios, drivers respond more positively to interventions (p = .021) and are willing to give the automation more control (p = .018). An experimental method and HMI design insights are presented and ethical questions about the development of automated driving are provoked.