Towards Safe and Comfortable Vehicle Control Transitions: A Systematic Review of Takeover Time, Time Budget, and Takeover Performance

Liang, Kexin; Calvert, Simeon C.; van Lint, J. W. C. · 2025 · arXiv

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Summary

This systematic review addresses the critical challenge of determining sufficient time budgets for safe and comfortable vehicle control transitions in conditionally automated driving. When automated systems encounter scenarios beyond their capabilities, human drivers must resume control within limited time frames. The authors identify a significant gap in existing literature: while prior studies have examined takeover time and performance individually, there is no systematic investigation into how to determine optimal time budgets that accommodate diverse driver needs and scenarios. The research aims to synthesize the causal relationships among takeover time, time budget, and takeover performance to guide the design of human-centered automated driving systems. The study employs a combined umbrella and systematic review methodology, searching Scopus and Web of Science for articles published between 2010 and 2025. Following PRISMA guidelines, the authors filtered 277 initial records down to 100 relevant articles focusing on human-vehicle interactions during takeovers. The analysis synthesizes findings from six major review papers and additional empirical studies to examine takeover durations, budget types (fixed vs. adaptive), and performance metrics. The authors clarify the definition of takeover time as the interval from the takeover request to the driver’s first conscious input, distinguishing it from reflexive motor readiness. Key findings include the proposal of two taxonomies to structure complex variables. First, a taxonomy of takeover time determinants is organized using the Task-Capability Interface model, categorizing factors into task demands (e.g., traffic complexity, automation features) and driver capabilities (e.g., demographic factors, cognitive constructs). Second, a taxonomy of takeover performance indicators is developed to address the current imbalance between objective vehicle metrics and subjective user experiences. The review highlights that takeover times vary significantly (mean ranges from 0.69s to 19.79s across studies) and are typically right-skewed, meaning average values often underestimate the needs of slower responders. The authors introduce the concept of a "takeover buffer"—the difference between the allocated time budget and the actual takeover time—arguing that a small positive buffer is essential for safety and efficiency. They also formulate a hypothesis regarding the qualitative relationship between these three elements to support future research on adaptive time budgets. The significance of this work lies in its provision of a structured framework for designing sufficient time budgets that balance safety, comfort, and traffic efficiency. By offering standardized taxonomies for determinants and performance measures, the review aids researchers in selecting appropriate predictors and metrics. The outlined research agenda identifies six gaps for future study, particularly in validating the proposed hypothesis and developing adaptive budget strategies. Ultimately, this synthesis promotes public trust and acceptance of conditionally automated driving by ensuring that control transitions are optimized for diverse human drivers and varying driving contexts.

Key finding

Sufficient time budgets must be balanced - too short compromises safety/comfort, too long reduces alertness - and require an adaptive design that integrates both vehicle-side and human-side takeover-performance indicators rather than the currently imbalanced vehicle-dominant measures.

Methodology

review

Sample size: 100 articles synthesized after PRISMA filtering of 277 initial records (185 Scopus + 92 Web of Science, 2010-2025)

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via discover_arxiv on 2026-05-07 (3 acquisition events logged).

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified_with_issues.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• takeover transitions
• automation
• temporal
• manual
• automation surprise
• automation complacency bias

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Empirical Findings: behavioral performance data
• Methodological Resource: measurement protocol
• Theoretical Contribution: conceptual framework