Individual Differences in Glance Patterns under Distraction in Level 2 Automated Driving

Abstract

This paper investigated individual differences in attentional strategies during the non-driving-related tasks in Level 2 automated driving. Ward’s method was used to cluster participants into different groups according to the characteristics of their sequential off-road glances in the email-sorting task: duration, frequency, variance, and intensity. The clustering results showed two types of sequential off-road glance patterns in distracted Level 2 driving: infrequent long glances vs. frequent short glances. However, participants in the two groups showed similar workload, driving engagement, and email-sorting accuracy. They also reported similar feelings of safety and feedback about the Level 2 vehicle automation. The glance differences demonstrated the complexity of attentional strategies among individual drivers, which is a necessary aspect of driver state to be monitored in automated driving.