Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Civil Engineering

Committee Chair

Sabyasachee Mishra

Committee Member

Mihalis Golias

Committee Member

Cladui Meier

Committee Member

Mohamed Osman

Abstract

This dissertation comprises three studies focused on enhancing the safety of Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) drivers using a driving simulator to explore the effects of the transition from automated to manual driving in Highly Automated Vehicles (HAVs), Level 4 of autonomous vehicles. Although in HAVs the driving system is responsible for all driving tasks and even intervenes in some cases of critical events, the transition from automated to manual driving is still needed to complete the trip, especially if the system reaches its operational limits due to road conditions or unexpected system failure. This transition from automated to manual is referred to as the Take-Over Condition (TOC). The importance of TOC in CMV driver safety has led to significant attention in recent years. By designing a 40-minute simulator experiment with 45 certified CMV drivers, this dissertation aims to examine CMV drivers’ performances in HAVs subject to TOC. The first section assesses the effects of long automated operation, repeated TOCs, and drivers' attributes such as age, gender, education, and driving history on various driving behavior indices (e.g., acceleration, velocity, and following distance) and reaction times. The second section analyzes the changes in driving styles during TOCs compared to continuous manual driving, using Multivariate Dynamic Time Warping and k-means clustering. Finally, the third section investigates the duration of the TOC’s effects, examining changes in driving behaviors over time and the persistence of unsafe behaviors such as hard braking, sharp turns, and speeding, by using Multilevel Mixed-effect Linear and Parametric Survival Models. The findings of this research provide critical insights for automotive companies and transportation planners regarding the behavioral impacts of manual transitions in automated vehicles, emphasizing the need for improved driver support systems during and after transitions to manual driving.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest.

Notes

Open Access

Download

Share

COinS