Partial automation technology encourages distraction, IIHS finds

New research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found partial automation systems in vehicles increase the likelihood of drivers engaging in distracted behaviors, such as checking their phones or eating while driving.

"Once the drivers were comfortable with using the technology, there were significantly higher levels of distraction," Ian Reagan, IIHS senior research scientist , told Automotive News.

The safety organization issued results Sept. 17 from two studies. One focused on Volvo's Pilot Assist System, while the other examined Tesla's Autopilot system. The latter found drivers learned how to manipulate the timing of an attention reminder feature to avoid system interventions

The results piggyback on IIHS research that found driver-assistance systems function as convenience features rather than contribute to safety gains. The organization's work prompts fresh questions about whether technology often touted as a means to reduce traffic deaths and injuries might have the opposite effect.

In the U.S., there is no legislation or regulation specific to Level 2 automated driving systems such as Pilot Assist and Autopilot. In these systems, the vehicles can control steering, braking, acceleration and lane centering, but human drivers remain responsible for the overall operations at all times.

As more drivers use vehicles with driver-assistance technology and potentially become more distracted, IIHS wants to assess whether the risk to all road users is growing.

"There is a need and importance for a really robust protocol that makes sure that the drivers are engaged in the driving task," Reagan said. "There's this concern that drivers will become more complacent."

Reagan used a 2017 Volvo S90 sedan, with Pilot Assist, to collect data over three years. During that period, two software updates were made to improve the vehicle's lane-centering feature and attention reminders. In total, 29 volunteers drove more than 12,000 miles with Pilot Assist active, triggering 3,858 attention-related warnings from the system. In 72 instances, drivers did not respond quickly enough to prevent the warnings from escalating.

The volunteers were experienced drivers but had never used partial automation technology. As their comfort with the system grew, so did their levels of distraction, Reagan said.

A 2006 NHTSA study found the risk of crashes increases when drivers look away from the road for more than 1.5 seconds, with the risk becoming much higher after 2 seconds.

NHTSA says on its website that higher levels of automation "remove the human driver from the chain of events that can lead to a crash," offering potential benefits such as active safety systems and fewer collisions.

However, the July 2024 IIHS study found partially automated driving systems don't significantly impact vehicle safety and found limited safety benefits in BMW and Nissan vehicles with partial automated systems.

As these technologies are quickly being introduced, Reagan said the lack of regulations raises "a lot of concerns" for the IIHS.

One is that drivers may not only be misusing these systems, but also finding ways to distract themselves even within the rules and safeguards already in place. Enhancements are needed to ensure drivers pay attention, Reagan said.

"Automakers can come up with an intuitive way to keep drivers in the loop," he said, suggesting the increased use of driver-facing cameras could be a solution.

“While use of Pilot Assist can result in a decrease in visual attention, we believe this is due to a feeling of driver safety when these systems are enabled, and that this behavior does not diminish overall safety,” Volvo spokesperson Russell Datz said in a written statement.