Anuj K Pradhan

• PhD
• Professor (Assistant) at University of Massachusetts Amherst

A third of large truck crashes are associated with driver-related factors, especially speeding. This study aimed to examine the impact of behavior-based safety (BBS) programs on speeding. Speeding data were examined from a trucking fleet that had incorporated a BBS program using in-vehicle data recorders (IVDR) and post hoc feedback. Speeding event...

While Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) promise safety benefits to drivers, there is evidence to suggest that drivers are unaware or uninformed about their vehicles’ systems and thus have poor mental models about the systems. Previous studies suggest that training improves drivers’ mental models, although some studies report limited impacts...

Teen drivers have the highest crash risk when they start driving independently, and improving risk anticipation skills can help reduce this risk. Training can help teens acquire these skills faster and improve their overall safety record. The objective of this study was to evaluate an updated training program (based on RAPT and ACCEL) by introducin...

Explanations-reasons or justifications for action-are being used to promote the acceptance of automated vehicles (AVs). Yet, it is unclear whether and how the modality of explanation affects its effectiveness. Despite its importance in the technology acceptance literature, the impact of technology suspicion on the adoption of AVs is yet to be fully...

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) support drivers with some driving tasks. However, drivers may lack appropriate knowledge about ADAS resulting in inadequate mental models. This may result in drivers misusing ADAS, or mistrusting the technologies, especially after encountering edge-case events (situations beyond the capability of an ADAS wh...

Automated Driving Systems (ADS) (SAE, 2021), promise improved safety and comfort for drivers. Current technological advances have resulted in increased automation capabilities. However, with the increase in automation capabilities, there is a shift in how drivers interact with their vehicles. Drivers can now temporarily hand over the control of the...

Advanced vehicle technologies such as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) promise increased safety and convenience but are also sophisticated and complex. Their presence in vehicles affects how drivers interact with the technologies and how drivers must know about these technologies. To maximize safety benefits, drivers must use such systems...

Intersection crashes can be potentially mitigated through vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) safety management systems. It is important, however, to consider some of the human factors related aspects of such systems to maximise potential safety benefits. In this study, Intersection Manoeuvre Assistance Systems were concept...

This project explored shared road users’ potential needs for information about Automated Driving Systems’ (ADS) intent and developed preliminary laboratory testing procedures for assessing external human-machine interface (eHMI) designs for communicating the intent of ADS-equipped vehicles. In Study 1, researchers interviewed driving instructors to...

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) provide safety and comfort while driving. However, to effectively use ADAS, it is necessary for users to have proper knowledge of the systems and to trust the system to operate safely. Providing knowledge about operational capabilities and limitations of a system may help improve drivers’ mental models and...

Driving simulation is a popular experimental method for studying drivers in automated vehicles. Traditional simulation uses programmed scenarios and algorithmically controlled vehicle behaviors to simulate automated driving. However, simulating higher levels of automation or complex scenarios can be technologically challenging. An alternate approac...

Background: Tailgating is a common aggressive driving behavior that has been identified as one of the leading causes of rear-end crashes. Previous studies have explored the behavior of tailgating drivers and have reported effective solutions to decrease the amount or prevalence of tailgating. This paper tries to fill the research gap by focusing o...

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) promise improved driving performance and safety. With ADAS taking on more vehicle control tasks, the driver’s role may be reduced to that of passive supervision. This in turn may increase drivers’ engagement in non-driving-related tasks, thereby potentially reducing any promised safety benefit. We conducted...

In conditionally automated driving, drivers engaged in non-driving-related tasks (NDRTs) have difficulty taking over control of the vehicle when requested. This study examined the relationships between takeover performance and drivers’ cognitive load, takeover request (TOR) lead time, and traffic density. We conducted a driving simulation experimen...

In conditionally automated driving, drivers have difficulty taking over control 2 when requested. To address this challenge, we aimed to predict drivers' takeover 3 performance before the issue of a takeover request (TOR) by analyzing drivers' 4 physiological data and external environment data. We used data sets from two 5 human-in-the-loop experim...

Objectives Driving simulation is an important platform for studying vehicle automation. There are different approaches to using this platform – with most using scripting or programmatic tools to simulate vehicle automation. A less frequently used approach, the Wizard-of-Oz method, has potential for increased flexibility and efficiency in designing...

For automated vehicles (AVs) to reliably navigate through crosswalks, they need to understand pedestrians’ cross-ing behaviors. Simple and reliable pedestrian behavior models aid in real-time AV control by allowing the AVs to predict future pedestrian behaviors. In this paper, we present a Behavior-aware Model Predictive Controller (B-MPC) for AVs...

For safe navigation around pedestrians, automated vehicles (AVs) need to plan their motion by accurately predicting pedestrians' trajectories over long time horizons. Current approaches to AV motion planning around crosswalks predict only for short time horizons (1-2 s) and are based on data from pedestrian interactions with human-driven vehicles (...

Advanced vehicle technologies include systems that are defined by the Society for Automotive Engineers as automated driving features or driver support features. The latter are increasingly available in late model vehicles in the form of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). ADAS features remove some responsibilities from drivers, but still dep...

In conditionally automated driving, drivers engaged in non-driving related tasks (NDRTs) have difficulty taking over control of the vehicle when requested. This study aimed to examine the relationships between takeover performance and drivers' cognitive load, takeover request (TOR) lead time, and traffic density. We conducted a driving simulation e...

For safe navigation around pedestrians, automated vehicles (AVs) need to plan their motion by accurately predicting pedestrians trajectories over long time horizons. Current approaches to AV motion planning around crosswalks predict only for short time horizons (1-2 s) and are based on data from pedestrian interactions with human-driven vehicles (H...

For automated vehicles (AVs) to reliably navigate through crosswalks, they need to understand pedestrians crossing behaviors. Simple and reliable pedestrian behavior models aid in real-time AV control by allowing the AVs to predict future pedestrian behaviors. In this paper, we present a Behavior aware Model Predictive Controller (B-MPC) for AVs th...

For automated vehicles (AVs) to reliably navigate through crosswalks, they need to understand pedestrians' crossing behaviors. Simple and reliable pedestrian behavior models aid in real-time AV control by allowing the AVs to predict future pedestrian behaviors. In this paper, we present a Behavior-aware Model Predictive Controller (B-MPC) for AVs t...

For safe navigation around pedestrians, automated vehicles (AVs) need to plan their motion by accurately predicting pedestrians' trajectories over long time horizons. Current approaches to AV motion planning around crosswalks predict only for short time horizons (1-2 s) and are based on data from pedestrian interactions with human-driven vehicles (...

In conditionally automated driving, drivers decoupled from operational control of the vehicle have difficulty taking over control when requested. To address this challenge, we conducted a human-in-the-loop experiment wherein the drivers needed to take over control from an automated vehicle. We collected drivers' physiological data and data from the...

In conditionally automated driving, drivers have difficulty in takeover transitions as they become increasingly decoupled from the operational level of driving. Factors influencing takeover performance, such as takeover lead time and the engagement of non-driving related tasks, have been studied in the past. However, despite the important role emot...

In conditionally automated driving, drivers have difficulty in takeover transitions as they become increasingly decoupled from the operational level of driving. Factors influencing takeover performance, such as takeover lead time and the engagement of non-driving related tasks, have been studied in the past. However, despite the important role emot...

In conditionally automated driving, drivers have difficulty in takeover transitions as they become increasingly decoupled from the operational level of driving. Factors influencing takeover performance, such as takeover lead time and the engagement of non-driving related tasks, have been studied in the past. However, despite the important role emot...

Advanced vehicle technologies include systems termed as Automated Driving Features (ADF) and Driver Support Features (DSF). DSF are increasingly becoming prominent features in automobiles and includes technologies commonly categorized as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). DSF remove some responsibilities from drivers, but still depend on th...

With SAE Level 3 of automation, if the AV reaches its system limit, the driver will be required to resume vehicle control within a short period (SAE, 2018). Previous studies showed that drivers had difficulty taking over control since they were decoupled from the operational level of control and did not have adequate situational awareness to deal w...

Pedestrians' acceptance of automated vehicles (AVs) depends on their trust in the AVs. We developed a model of pedestrians' trust in AVs based on AV driving behavior and traffic signal presence. To empirically verify this model, we conducted a human–subject study with 30 participants in a virtual reality environment. The study manipulated two facto...

Level 2" vehicle automation, as defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), has the potential to increase safety through the constant vigilance and nearly instant reactions of automated systems. However, with L2, there remain situations that automation is unable to handle appropriately, requiring the driver to takeover control. Research s...

Explanations given by automation are often used to promote automation adoption. However, it remains unclear whether explanations promote acceptance of automated vehicles (AVs). In this study, we conducted a within-subject experiment in a driving simulator with 32 participants, using four different conditions. The four conditions included: (1) no ex...

Explanations given by automation are often used to promote automation adoption. However, it remains unclear whether explanations promote acceptance of automated vehicles (AVs). In this study, we conducted a within-subject experiment in a driving simulator with 32 participants, using four different conditions. The four conditions included: (1) no ex...

Vehicles with partial automation, forerunners to those with higher levels of automation, are already being deployed by automakers. These current deployments, although incremental, have the potential to disrupt how people interact with vehicles. This chapter reports on a discussion of related issues that was held as part of the Human Factors Breakou...

Vehicle automation offers promise for improving safe transportation, access to mobility, and quality of life. However, at least in the early stages of automation, human drivers remain an integral component of the system and their acceptance and use of the automated technology needs to be much better understood. One factor that has emerged as a stro...

There has been an increase of automated vehicle (AV) technologies in recent years. Using qualitative methods, this study explored drivers’ responses to the experience of AVs centered on theoretical themes of trust, particularly around ability, helpfulness, and integrity as well as individual factors of identity, norms, and efficacy. Participants (n...

Trust in autonomous vehicles (AVs) has become as a key determinant of drivers' acceptance of AVs and explanations are often at the heart of this trusting relationship. This study explores, in consideration of cultural and personality differences, how explanation timing and permission of AV's action affect trust building in the AV. To examine the re...

This paper describes an interdisciplinary approach we adopted at the University of Michigan to investigate how humans interact with autonomous vehicles. We present four projects that the Michigan Autonomous Vehicle Research Intergroup Collaboration (MAVRIC) is working on, leveraging expertise from human-computer interaction, industrial engineering,...

This study applied the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to assess drivers' intended use of automated vehicles (AVs) after undertaking a simulated driving task. In addition, this study explored the potential for trust to account for additional variance to the psychosocial factors in TPB and TAM. Seventy-four...

Objective: There are many unknowns regarding drivers’ use and acceptance of advanced vehicle technologies. This research aimed to examine drivers’ perceptions of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Methods: This research was conducted using structured interviews and focus groups of owners of vehicles with advanced technologies. Results: Driv...

This paper describes an interdisciplinary approach we adopted at the University of Michigan to investigate how humans interact with autonomous vehicles. We present four projects that the Michigan Autonomous Vehicle Research Intergroup Collaboration (MAVRIC) is working on, leveraging expertise from human–computer interaction, industrial engineering,...

Trust in autonomous vehicles (AVs) has become as a key determinant of drivers' acceptance of AVs and explanations are often at the heart of this trusting relationship. This study explores, in consideration of cultural and personality differences, how explanation timing and permission of AV's action affect trust building in the AV. To examine the re...

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have the potential to improve road safety. Trust in AVs, especially among pedestrians, is vital to alleviate public skepticism. Yet much of the research has focused on trust between the AV and its driver/passengers. To address this shortcoming, we examined the interactions between AVs and pedestrians using uncertainty redu...

Trust is a vital determinant of acceptance of automated vehicles (AVs) and expectations and explanations are often at the heart of any trusting relationship. Once expectations have been violated, explanations are needed to mitigate the damage. This study introduces the importance of timing of explanations in promoting trust in AVs. We present the p...

Connected vehicles technology using Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) is an emerging technology with potential to significantly enhance roadway users' safety. This technology includes communications among vehicles and to/from other entities on the roadway; generally referred to as Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communications. V2X has numero...

Statement of purpose Motor vehicle crashes are a major cause of mortality and injury for U.S. teenagers. This risk is highest for male teenagers with multiple male teenaged passengers. This research was undertaken to examine how multiple peer passengers influence male teenagers’ driving behaviours. Methods/approach In this experimental driving sim...

This abstract summarizes some recent research on trust in autonomous vehicles and our proposal to promote trust between autonomous vehicles and pedestrians. We aim to develop a trust framework based on expectations, behaviors and communication between the pedestrian and the autonomous vehicle. We describe a user study that is designed to determine...

Mcity at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor provides a realistic off-roadway environment in which to test vehicles and drivers in complex traffic situations. It is intended for testing of various levels of vehicle automation, from advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to fully self-driving vehicles. In a recent human factors study of inter...

In this literature review, theories of driver behavioral adaptation (BA) are examined for the insight they can provide into how drivers will use advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Such systems are designed to support driving tasks formerly managed exclusively by the drivers themselves. How drivers react to this assistance will depend on the...

Introduction: This paper summarizes the findings on novice teenage driving outcomes (e.g., crashes and risky driving behaviors) from the Naturalistic Teenage Driving Study. Method: Survey and driving data from a data acquisition system (global positioning system, accelerometers, cameras) were collected from 42 newly licensed teenage drivers and...

A systematic review of the literature was conducted to appraise the evidence from epidemiological studies of crash risk in young drivers accompanied by passengers, compared with solo driving. Databases searched were the Cochrane Library, Embase, Scopus, Transportation Research Information Services, and Web of Science for studies published between J...

Poor hazard anticipation skills are a risk factor associated with high motor vehicle crash rates of young drivers. A number of programs have been developed to improve these skills. The purpose of this review was to assess the empirical literature on hazard anticipation training for young drivers. Studies were included if they (1) included an assess...

Purpose: A systematic review of the literature was conducted to appraise the evidence from epidemiological studies of crash risk in young drivers accompanied by passengers, compared with solo driving. Methods:Databases searched were the Cochrane Library, Embase, Scopus, Transportation Research Information Services, and Web of Science for studies pu...

Statement of purpose Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of teen death in the United States. Peer passengers increase risk, in part due to how they draw the teen driver’s attention away from the roadway. The purpose of this study was to examine teens’ attitudes, perceived behavioural control, and norms related to driving inattention and pee...

Signalized intersection management is a common measure of risky driving in simulator studies. In a recent randomized trial, investigators were interested in whether teenage males exposed to a risk-accepting passenger took more intersection risks in a driving simulator compared with those exposed to a risk-averse peer passenger. Analyses in this tri...

Teenage passengers increase teenage driving risk, but this may be conditional on events and emotions immediately preceding driving. An experimental simulation study evaluated the effect of pre-drive arousal on risky driving in the presence of a confederate teenage passenger. In a two-by-two between-subjects design, participants were randomized to h...

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of mortality among teenage drivers. The high crash rate among teenage drivers is generally attributed to lack of experience and risk taking. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of social norms on male teenage driving performance. To examine the effect of teenage passenger presence, peer no...

Adolescence is a period characterized by increased sensitivity to social cues, as well as increased risk-taking in the presence of peers. For example, automobile crashes are the leading cause of death for adolescents, and driving with peers increases the risk of a fatal crash. Growing evidence points to an interaction between neural systems implica...

Social influence is prominent across the lifespan, but sensitivity to influence is especially high during adolescence and is often associated with increased risk taking. Such risk taking can have dire consequences. For example, in American adolescents, traffic-related crashes are leading causes of nonfatal injury and death. Neural measures may be e...

There is a higher likelihood of crashes and fatalities when an adolescent drives with peer passengers, especially for male drivers and male passengers. Simulated driving of male adolescent drivers with male peer passengers was studied to examine passenger influences on distraction and inattention. Male adolescents drove in a high-fidelity driving s...

Secondary task engagement that distracts the driver is a contributing factor to motor vehicle crashes among adults. However, the association between eye glance duration and crash risk with novice teenage drivers has not been determined. Vehicles of 42 newly licensed teenage drivers were instrumented with cameras, accelerometers, Global Positioning...

Objective: Teenage passengers affect teenage driving performance, possibly by social influence. To examine the effect of social norms on driving behavior, male teenagers were randomly assigned to drive in a simulator with a peer-aged confederate to whom participants were primed to attribute either risk-accepting or risk-averse social norms. It was...

Driver distraction inside and outside the vehicle is increasingly a problem, especially for younger drivers. In many cases the distraction is associated with long glances away from the forward roadway. Such glances have been shown to be highly predictive of crashes. Ideally, one would like to develop and evaluate a training program which reduced th...

Novice teenage drivers have high crash rates due to inexperience; therefore, cell phone-related secondary task engagement (distracted driving) is likely to aggravate crash risk for this population. A previous study of teenage distracted driving behavior, found that 34% of 16-17-year-olds had texted, and 52% reported talking on a cell phone while dr...

Studies have shown that teenage drivers are less attentive, more frequently exhibit risky driving behavior, and have a higher fatal crash risk in the presence of peers. The effects of direct peer pressure and conversation on young drivers have been examined. Little is known about the impact on driving performance of the presence of a non-interactin...

Purpose: Teenage risky driving may be due to teenagers not knowing what is risky, preferring risk, or the lack of consequences. Elevated gravitational-force (g-force) events, caused mainly by hard braking and sharp turns, provide a valid measure of risky driving and are the target of interventions using in-vehicle data recording and feedback devic...

Distractions are a major contributor to automobile crashes, almost one-third of which are thought to be caused by distractions external to the vehicle. Increasingly, external distractions include video billboards, marquees, and variable message signs placed above and beside the highway. It is known that distractions outside the vehicle, especially...

Several studies have documented that the failure of drivers to attend to the forward roadway for a period lasting longer than 2–3 s is a major cause of highway crashes. Moreover, several studies have demonstrated that novice drivers are more likely to glance away from the roadway than the experienced drivers for extended periods when attempting to...

Summary: (a) The purpose of this study was to determine whether novice drivers that were trained to anticipate hazards did so better than novice drivers who were not so trained immediately after training and up to one year after training oc-curred. (b) Novice drivers who had held their restricted license for about one month were randomly assigned t...

Young children are overrepresented in run-over backing crashes. The research goal was to propose a backing warning system based upon drivers’ backing behavior that was sensitive to different backing scenarios. A backing collision avoidance model that is sensitive to different backing scenarios needs to consider how drivers accelerate and respond to...

This report presents the results of three research studies regarding driver distraction from the forward roadway due to secondary in-vehicle tasks. Study 1 included the development and evaluation of a PC-based training program named FOrward Concentration and Attention Learning (FOCAL). The computer program was designed to teach novice drivers to ma...

The high crash risk of novice drivers has been partly attributed to their underdeveloped hazard perception abilities. Novice drivers also have an increased risk of crashes due to distractions. Studies show that novice drivers do not detect risk relevant cues and are more susceptible to distractions when compared to adult drivers. This test track st...

(a) The purpose of this study was to determine whether novice drivers that were trained to anticipate hazards did so better than novice drivers who were not so trained immediately after training and up to one year after training occurred. (b) Novice drivers who had held their restricted license for about one month were randomly assigned to a PC-bas...

The Problem. We know that newly licensed 16- and 17-year-old drivers during their first six months on the road with a restricted license are at a greatly inflated risk of crashing. This inflated crash rate has not changed over the last 50 years. The Question. The question we address is whether there are training techniques that show some promise of...

Novice drivers (teen drivers with their solo license for six months or less) are at a greatly inflated risk of crashing. Post hoc analyses of police accident reports indicate that novice drivers fail to anticipate hazards, manage their speed, and maintain attention. These skills are much too broadly defined to be of much help in training. Recently,...

In-vehicle music retrieval systems are becoming more and more popular. Previous studies have shown that they pose a real hazard to drivers when the interface is a tactile one which requires multiple entries and a combination of manual control and visual feedback. Voice interfaces exist as an alternative. Such interfaces can require either multiple...