Humans and Intelligent Vehicles: The Hope, the Help, and the Harm

Intelligent vehicles offer hope for a world in which crashes are rare, congestion is reduced, carbon emissions are decreased, and mobility is extended to a wider population. As long as humans are in the loop, over a half century of research in human factors suggests that this hope is unlikely to become a reality unless careful attention is paid to human behavior and, conversely, the potential for harm is real if little attention is given to said behavior. Different challenges lie with each of the two middle levels of automation which are the primary focus of this article. With Level 2 automation (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; NHTSA), the driver is removed from always having to control the position and speed of the vehicle, but is still required to monitor both position and speed. Humans are notoriously bad at vigilance tasks, and can quickly lose situation awareness. Moreover, even if vigilant, the driver needs to interact with the vehicle. But voice-activated systems which let the driver continue to glance at the forward roadway are proving to be a potential source of cognitive distraction. With Level 3 automation (NHTSA), the driver is out of the loop most of the time, but will still need to interact with the vehicle. Critical skills can be lost over time. Unexpected transfers of control need to be considered. The surface transportation and aviation human factors communities have proposed ways to solve the problems that will inevitably arise, either through careful experimentation or extensions of existing research.