Linking Behaviour and Perception to Evaluate Meaningful Human Control over Partially Automated Driving
For researchers and designers of automated driving systems, this work provides empirical evidence linking behavioural metrics to subjective perceptions of MHC, offering design guidelines to improve driver engagement and safety.
This study empirically evaluated meaningful human control (MHC) in partially automated driving through a simulator study with 24 drivers, finding that mismatched intentions, lack of safety, and resistance to driver inputs reduce perceived MHC, while subtle haptic guidance aligned with driver intent improves it. A significant negative correlation was found between perceived AV understanding and steering conflict, and a positive correlation between reaction times and perceived control.
Partial driving automation creates a tension: drivers remain legally responsible for vehicle behaviour, yet their active control is significantly reduced. This reduction undermines the engagement and sense of agency needed to intervene safely. Meaningful human control (MHC) has been proposed as a normative framework to address this tension. However, empirical methods for evaluating whether existing systems actually provide MHC remain underdeveloped. In this study, we investigated the extent to which drivers experience MHC when interacting with partially automated driving systems. Twenty-four drivers completed a simulator study involving silent automation failures under two modes - haptic shared control (HSC) and traded control (TC). We derived behavioural metrics from telemetry data, subjective perception scores from post-trial surveys and used them to test hypothesised relations between them derived from the properties of systems under MHC. The confirmatory analysis showed a significant negative correlation between the perception of the automated vehicle (AV) understanding the driver and conflict in steering torques. An exploratory analysis also revealed a surprising positive correlation between reaction times and the perception of sufficient control. Qualitative feedback from open-ended post-experiment questionnaires revealed that mismatches in intentions between the driver and automation, lack of safety, and resistance to driver inputs contribute to the reduction of perceived MHC, while subtle haptic guidance aligned with driver intent had a positive effect. These findings suggest that future designs should prioritise effortless driver interventions, transparent communication of automation intent, and context-sensitive authority allocation to strengthen meaningful human control in partially automated driving.