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Agency Information Collection Activities; New Information Collection: Safety Impacts of Human-Automated Driving System (ADS) Team Driving Applications Publication: Federal Register Agency: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Byline: Thomas P. Keane Date: 8 June 2023 Subject: American Government  , Autonomous Vehicles, Safety
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 110 (Thursday, June 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37597-37599]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12254]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2023-0098]
Agency Information Collection Activities; New Information
Collection: Safety Impacts of Human-Automated Driving System (ADS) Team
Driving Applications
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Department
of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA
announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR)
described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its
review and approval and invites public comment. This notice invites
comments on a proposed information collection titled ``Safety Impacts
of Human-Automated Driving System (ADS) Team Driving Applications.'' It
is a driving simulator study with a series of questionnaires that will
quantify the safety implications of team driving applications between
humans and ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). Specifically,
this study will focus on team driving applications with an SAE Level 4
(L4) CMV. In L4 automation, as specified by SAE (2021), CMVs are
capable of all functions and controls necessary for driving without
human monitoring in limited conditions, and the human driver will not
be asked to take over control of the vehicle. The L4 CMV will not
operate outside of the conditions it was designed for without human
control. Approximately 80 CMV drivers will participate in the study.
The study will assess the safety benefits and disbenefits of human-ADS
team driving applications and support the analysis of potential
requests for relief from FMCSA's hours-of-service (HOS) regulations.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received on or before August 7,
2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket
Management System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2023-0098 using any of the
following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: 202-493-2251.
Mail: Dockets Operations; U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200
[[Page 37598]]
New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140,
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Routhier, Office of Research and
Registration, DOT, FMCSA, West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001; 202-366-1225;
brian.routhier@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Participation
Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and
docket number. For detailed instructions on submitting comments, see
the Public Participation heading below. Note that all comments received
will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including
any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading
below.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov, and follow the
online instructions for accessing the docket, or go to the street
address listed above.
Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits
comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT
posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information
the commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the
system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at
www.dot.gov/privacy.
Public Participation: The Federal eRulemaking Portal is available
24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can obtain electronic
submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the ``FAQ'' section
of the Federal eRulemaking Portal website. If you want us to notify you
that we received your comments, please include a self-addressed,
stamped envelope or postcard, or print the acknowledgement page that
appears after submitting comments online. Comments received after the
comment closing date will be included in the docket and will be
considered to the extent practicable.
Background
Over the past 15 years, ADS technology has advanced rapidly through
innovation. As more manufacturers and technology companies move toward
higher levels of automation (i.e., SAE ``L4''), it is not fully clear
how human drivers will team with ADS-equipped trucks. L4 ADS-equipped
CMVs are capable of all functions and controls necessary for driving
without human monitoring in limited conditions, and the human driver
will not be asked to take over control of the vehicle. L4 ADS will not
operate outside of the conditions for which it was designed. Currently,
there are at least four use cases where a human may team with an ADS-
equipped CMV:
1. In-vehicle driver teams with an ADS CMV;
2. In-vehicle driver teams with a following ADS-equipped CMV;
3. In-vehicle driver teams with a remote human to monitor and
control an ADS CMV; and
4. Remote monitor/operator teaming with ADS CMV.
Each of the teaming use cases above offers different potential
human factors benefits and challenges. However, it is unclear how each
human-ADS teaming use case will affect safety, productivity, and
efficiency. Each teaming combination may positively or negatively
affect a driver's cognitive workload and level of fatigue, alertness,
or distraction compared to the case of a traditional driver in a truck
without ADS. For example, the in-vehicle drivers and remote monitors/
operators in the above teaming use cases may experience varying
workloads and differences in the development of fatigue.
Previous research conducted by FMCSA found a paucity of extant
research related to ADS-equipped CMVs. To date, most commercial ADSs on
U.S. roadways are in passenger vehicles, and CMV ADSs are only recently
being implemented in real-world operations. Therefore, FMCSA needs more
data on ADS-equipped CMVs to understand the human factors surrounding
team driving applications between humans and ADS-equipped CMVs.
The purpose for obtaining data in this study is to quantify safety
implications of the four human-ADS teaming use cases described above.
Specifically, this project will provide data to assess the safety
benefits and disbenefits on human-ADS teaming scenarios: (i) driver
use, workload, fatigue, alertness, and distraction when teaming with an
ADS; (ii) remote operator use, workload, fatigue, alertness, and
distraction while actively monitoring and/or controlling an ADS-
equipped truck; (iii) driver re-engagement to the driving task after
ADS or remote operator control; and (iv) fleet acceptance and future
integration possibilities. Additionally, data from this study will
support the analysis of potential requests for relief from FMCSA's HOS
regulations under 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 49 CFR part 381. Answers to these
research questions will provide insight into the potential safety
implications and human factors associated with human-ADS team driving
applications.
The study includes data collection from a series of questionnaires
and a driving-simulator focused experiment. The collected survey data
will support the simulator experiment data. The survey data will be
used in two ways: in the assessment of driving performance data as
covariates in the model (to control for certain demographic variables,
such as age, gender, and experience) and to answer research questions
on the human factors and the relationship the safety benefits of each
of the four human-ADS team driving applications. Data on workload,
fatigue, alertness, inattention, and performance will be collected from
the simulator experiment. Eligible drivers will hold a valid commercial
driver's license, currently drive a CMV, be 21 years of age or older,
and pass the motion sickness history screening questionnaire.
We anticipate 80 participants in total for the driving simulator
study. Data will be collected over one study session lasting up to 17
hours. Questionnaire data will be collected prior to the simulator
study, during the simulator study, and after the simulator study. All
questionnaires will be preloaded in an app format for drivers to
complete on a tablet.
The analysis methodology uses a multifaceted approach to address
research questions on driver workload, fatigue, alertness, distraction,
and rate of safety-critical events. The principal statistical method
for analyzing the data will include mixed models to account for
multiple, correlated data points from a single participant. Eye-
tracking data will be used to assess driver workload, fatigue,
alertness, distraction, and reaction time. These data will be described
using summary statistics and advanced plotting techniques to visually
compare drivers and remote operators during in-vehicle driving, in-
vehicle monitoring, and remote operation. A generalized linear mixed
model (GLMM) will be used to assess differences in average fatigue,
workload, alertness, distraction, and reaction times between in-vehicle
driving and remote operator driving operation types. In the
transportation safety field, GLMMs are
[[Page 37599]]
often used to analyze driver behavior and assess relationships between
driving scenarios and behaviors. Finally, rates of safety-critical
events, including unintentional lane deviations (which are surrogates
for fatigue and alertness) will be analyzed using a Poisson or negative
binomial mixed-effect regression model. Poisson or negative binomial
regression models are standard practice for the assessment of events
over a unit of exposure in the field of transportation safety.
Title: Safety Impacts of Human-Automated Driving System (ADS) Team
Driving Applications.
OMB Control Number: 2126-00XX.
Type of Request: New ICR.
Respondents: CMV drivers.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 80.
Estimated Time per Response: 17 hours.
Expiration Date: This is a new ICR.
Frequency of Response: One response.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 508.5 hours.
Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of
this information collection, including: (1) whether the proposed
collection is necessary for the performance of FMCSA's functions; (2)
the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for FMCSA to enhance the
quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4)
ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of
the collected information. The Agency will summarize or include your
comments in the request for OMB's clearance of this ICR.
Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87.
Thomas P. Keane,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2023-12254 Filed 6-7-23; 8:45 am]
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