Driver tricked Autopilot into activating it

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) studied the behavior of more than 40 drivers using two different types of cars and driver-assistance systems and found that the test subjects used the technology to help them multitask while driving. The researchers also noted that drivers quickly adapted to the systems’ distraction alerts, tricking the cars into thinking they were paying full attention to the road.

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“These results are a good reminder of how people learn,” said David Harkey, IIHS president. “If you train them to think paying attention means nudging the steering wheel every few seconds, that’s what they’ll do.”

The study first recorded the behavior of 29 drivers, each of whom used Pilot Assist in a 2017 Volvo S90 sedan, for four weeks. In the second part of the multi-year test, 14 people who had never used any driver-assistance features were given Tesla Model 3s for a month to see the impact of Autopilot on their levels of distraction while driving.

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Here’s what the IIHS says about Volvo owners:

“A month-long study of driver behavior conducted by IIHS in conjunction with MIT’s AgeLab showed that drivers were more likely to check their phones, eat a sandwich or perform other visual-manual activities while using Volvo’s Pilot Assist partially automated system than to drive without assistance. As some drivers became more familiar with the technology, their tendency to multitask increased over time, while other drivers were more easily distracted when using the system from the beginning.”

In the Tesla group, the frequency of first-time attention reminders increased 26% over a month for every 1,000 miles (1,600 km) driven with Autopilot on, suggesting that as drivers become more familiar with the system, they are more likely to be distracted.

IIHS provided the following insights on Tesla drivers’ use of Autopilot:

“Although each alert was shorter in duration, the percentage of time drivers were distracted before and after the alerts also increased. The researchers found that during the alerts and in the 10 seconds before and after the alerts, drivers were more likely to engage in non-driving secondary activities, take their eyes off the road, and take their hands off the wheel as they learned how the attention reminder worked. The longer they used the system, the less time it took them to take their hands off the wheel again after the alerts stopped.”

But the escalation rate (more intrusive warnings when you ignore the first one) fell 64 percent, suggesting that drivers are learning how to game the system by applying just enough push on the steering wheel to keep Autopilot engaged.

“In both studies, drivers adjusted their behavior and engaged in distracting activities,” Hagee said. “This shows why partially automated systems need stronger safeguards to prevent misuse.”

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