The role of take-over cue informativity in interrupted take-over requests in a semi-automated driving scenario
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-36614-y
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Summary
This study investigates how post-cue interruptions affect the efficacy of informative take-over requests (TORs) in semi-automated driving. While informative TORs generally improve driver response, cognitive psychology suggests that specific cues may suffer from inhibitory effects if interrupted by a distracting task. The authors tested whether this inhibition diminishes the advantage of informative TORs when drivers are distracted immediately after receiving a cue. Participants (N=45) viewed simulated driving videos and responded to TOR cues indicating either a lane or speed change. Cues were either informative (specifying the task) or non-informative. In half the trials, the TOR cue was followed by an interrupting lexical decision task, simulating distractions like phone calls. Performance was measured via response time (RT) and error rate (ER). Results showed that informative cues consistently accelerated take-over RTs compared to non-informative ones, regardless of interruption. However, the performance benefit of informative cues was significantly reduced when an interrupting task was present. Effect course analysis revealed this reduction was most pronounced after initial practice (trials 7–23) and vanished with further exposure, suggesting drivers optimized task switching over time. No significant effects were found for error rates. The findings indicate that while informative TORs remain superior, their effectiveness is compromised by immediate post-cue distractions. This impairment is practice-dependent, diminishing as drivers adapt. The study implies that semi-automated systems should suppress distracting information during TORs to maximize safety, particularly for inexperienced users. It highlights the need to consider cognitive inhibition mechanisms and practice levels in human-machine interaction design.
Key finding
Informative TOR cues generally improve take-over performance, but interrupting tasks reduce this advantage. The moderating effect of distraction takes time to reach maximum and vanishes with further practice, identifying practice as a factor moderating TOR cue effectiveness.
Methodology
lab_experiment
Sample size: 45
Provenance
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| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-04 |
| archive | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-04 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-07 |
| clean | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| chunk | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| embed | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-02 |
| enrich | success | crossref | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-04 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-04 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 2 | 2026-06-07 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 17 | 2026-06-11 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-08 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-07; verification: verified.
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- Empirical Findings: behavioral performance data
- Methodological Resource: measurement protocol
- Theoretical Contribution: conceptual framework