Characterizing the use of Tesla’s Auto Lane Change Feature in Driver-Initiated Maneuvers

Abstract

Tesla auto lane change is a feature within Autopilot (AP) – a collection of automated driving features designed to assist the driver with automatic steering and adaptive cruise control. In order to determine how drivers engage in maneuvers performed automatically by AP, 5,154 manual and automated lane change events along with video, system data, and vehicle kinematics were extracted from over 691 hours of naturalistic driving from 19 different drivers. Findings indicate that drivers performed manual lane changes more frequently than auto lane changes despite the use of Autopilot being more prevalent than manual driving on motorways. Auto lane changes occurred at higher speed and were associated with fewer acceleration and braking events and narrower distributions of kinematic characteristics. The lower frequency and kinematic variability in auto lane changes may suggest that drivers use this feature in a limited set of circumstances.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Antin

J. F.

Wotring

Perez

M. A.

Glaser

(2020). Investigating lane change behaviors and difficulties for senior drivers using naturalistic driving data. Journal of Safety Research, 74, 81–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2020.04.008

Boer

E. R.

Hoedemaeker

(1998). Modeling Driver Behavior with Different Degress of Automation: A Hierarchical Decision Framework of Interacting Mental Models. 17th European Annual Conference on Human Decision Making and Manual Control.

Chovan

J. D.

Tijerina

Alexander

Hendricks

D. L.

(1994). Examination of Lane Change Crashes and Potential Ivhs Countermeasure (HS-808 071). Article HS-808 071. https://trid.trb.org/view/454117

Fitch

G. M.

Hankey

J. M.

(2012). Investigating Improper Lane Changes: Driver Performance Contributing to Lane Change Near-Crashes. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 56(1), 2231–2235. https://doi.org/10.1177/1071181312561470

Fridman

Brown

D. E.

Glazer

Angell

Dodd

Jenik

Terwilliger

Patsekin

Kindelsberger

Ding

Seaman

Mehler

Sipperley

Pettinato

Seppelt

Angell

Mehler

Reimer

(2017). MIT Advanced Vehicle Technology Study: Large-Scale Naturalistic Driving Study of Driver Behavior and Interaction with Automation. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2926040

Gershon

Seaman

Mehler

Reimer

Coughlin

(2021). Driver behavior and the use of automation in real-world driving. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 158, 106217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2021.106217

Lay

M. G.

(2009). Handbook of Road Technology (4th ed.). Spon Press. https://trid.trb.org/view/655376

Lee

S. E.

Olsen

E. C. B.

Wierwille

W. W.

(2004). A Comprehensive Examination of Naturalistic Lane-Changes (HS-809 702,). Article HS-809 702,. https://trid.trb.org/view/743236

Michon

J. A.

(1985). A Critical View of Driver Behavior Models: What Do We Know, What Should We Do? In Evans

Schwing

R. C.

(Eds.), Human Behavior and Traffic Safety (pp. 485–524). Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2173-6_19

10.

Morando

Gershon

Mehler

Reimer

(2020). Driver-initiated Tesla Autopilot Disengagements in Naturalistic Driving. 12th International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications, 57–65. https://doi.org/10.1145/3409120.3410644

11.

SAE International. (2018, June 15). Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms Related to Driving Automation Systems for On-Road Motor Vehicles. https://www.sae.org/standards/content/j3016_201806/

12.

Svenson

A. L.

Gawron

V. J.

Brown

(2005). Saftey Evaluation of Lane Change Collision Avoidance Systems Using the National Advanced Driving Simulator. 19th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles, Washington, DC.

13.

Tesla

Inc

. (2021). Model S Owner’s Manual. Tesla. https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/models/en_us/

14.

van Winsum

de Waard

Brookhuis

K. A

. (1999). Lane Change Manoeuvres and Safety Margins. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 2(3), 139–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1369-8478(99)00011-X

15.

Wierwille

W. W.

(1984). Driver Steering Performance. In Automotive Engineering and Litigation: Vol. I.

16.

Worrall

R. D.

Bullen

A. G. R.

(1970). An Empirical Analysis of Lane Changing on Multilane Highway. Highway Research Record, 303. https://trid.trb.org/view.aspx?id=116783