Effects of automation trust in drivers’ visual distraction during automation

With ongoing improvements in vehicle automation, research on automation trust has attracted considerable attention. In order to explore effects of automation trust on drivers’ visual distraction, we designed a three-factor 2 (trust type: high trust group, low trust group) × 2 (video entertainment: variety-show videos, news videos) × 3 (measurement stage: 1–3) experiment. 48 drivers were recruited in Dalian, China for the experiment. With a driving simulator, we used detection-response tasks (DRT) to measure each driver’s performance. Their eye movements were recorded, and automation-trust scale was used to divide participants into high trust group and low trust group. The results show that: (1) drivers in the high trust group has lower mental workload and paid more attention to visual non-driving-related tasks; (2) video entertainment also has an impact on distraction behavior, variety-show videos catch more attention than news videos. The findings of the present study indicate that drivers with high automation trust are more likely to be involved in non-driving-related visual tasks.