Drivers Tend To Multitask And Pay Less Attention To The Road While Using Tesla's Autopilot And Volvo's Pilot Assist, Study Finds

Drivers tend to pay less attention to the road and multitask when using partial automation to drive despite automakers mandating constant supervision, as per new research.

What Happened: According to new research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), drivers are more likely to multitask when using partial automation systems. Multitasking involves checking their phones, eating a sandwich, or doing other visual-manual activities, the study said.

IIHS conducted the study with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's AgeLab and tested driver attentiveness while using Volvo Car's VLVCY Pilot Assist partial automation system and Tesla Inc.'s TSLA Autopilot system.

Tesla autopilot users mastered the timing of the system’s attention reminder feature and made minor movements routinely to keep the warnings at bay while also engaging in distracting behaviors, the study found.

"In both these studies, drivers adapted their behavior to engage in distracting activities," IIHS President David Harkey said. "This demonstrates why partial automation systems need more robust safeguards to prevent misuse."

Neither of the two partial automation systems tested makes the vehicle entirely autonomous. Both require the driver to pay active attention to the road to take over when required.

Why It Matters: While the deployment of autonomous driving technology continues to be plagued with technical, monetary, and regulatory challenges, several automakers offer driver assistance features that partly automate driving but require active supervision from the driver. Most even require the driver to have their hands on the steering wheels at all times.

In December, Tesla recalled over 2 million vehicles equipped with all versions of Autosteer, a part of autopilot, after deeming the feature's controls to be insufficient to prevent misuse.

Tesla subsequently released a software update to fix the issue. In April, however, the U.S. auto safety regulator, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) commenced a probe to determine whether the software update is sufficient to address the concerns of shifting driver attention.

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