Auch automated cars don't get along without a driver. In an emergency, people must still be able to take the wheel. However, as a study has found, it can take a long time between the car's warning call and the actual takeover of the command. In extreme cases, almost half a minute.
Researchers at the University of Southampton wanted to determine how long the warning time of future autonomous cars must be in order for the human driver to take over the steering wheel in good time in an emergency. For this purpose, two series of tests were carried out on a driving simulator with test persons aged between 20 and 52: First, the test subjects should concentrate on the traffic, and in a second pass they had to read the newspaper while driving.
The results: While the concentrated test subjects took an average of 4,56 seconds and the unconcentrated, newspaper-reading 6,06 seconds, large deviations were found in the individual candidates. The fastest test subjects only needed two seconds to get the wheel back in hand. However, the slowest took up to 26 seconds. At 100 km / h, a car would travel almost 730 meters during this time.
Against this background, the researchers speak out against rigid, legally regulated handover time limits. In particular, a too short lead could cause panic reactions such as sudden braking or changing lanes in slower people. It is better to be able to adapt the advance warning time to the situation and driver, for example by monitoring the interior with a camera. (Holger Holzer / SP-X)