HANDS OFF THE WHEEL DRIVERS
HANDS OFF THE WHEEL DRIVER
HANDS OFF THE WHEEL FULL

Previous research looking at how drivers position their hands has tended to take place in highly artificial lab conditions using driving simulators. Recommendations for driving with both hands on the wheel are there for good reason: With two hands on the wheel drivers can exercise far more control in maneuvering the vehicle in case of a sudden emergency.Д«ut collecting realistic data on peopleвЂ™s steering wheel habits has been surprisingly difficult. вЂњThe data show very clearly that few drivers used the recommended position for their hands, and that many more drove with one hand on the wheel,вЂќ Hartley writes. Over 40% of drivers used just one hand to steer. In a new field study, Keele University psychological scientist James Hartley found that out of 230 drivers observed, only around 25% were actually using two hands to grasp the wheel at the recommended 9 and 3 oвЂ™clock positions (the former 10 and 2 oвЂ™clock recommendation was updated due to airbag-related injuries). Yet, field studies consistently find that drivers donвЂ™t follow these recommendations. All over the world the advice is pretty much the same: Keep both hands on the steering wheel.

HANDS OFF THE WHEEL FULL

The full document can be found here and anyone wanting to take part in the consultation process can do so online here. The consultation is open now and runs until 27 October.

HANDS OFF THE WHEEL DRIVER

In that situation the law requires the driver of the car to stop, but would the ALKS actually be able to tell that itвЂ™s even happened? The call for evidence posits a scenario where a filtering motorcyclist is clipped by or clips a car thatвЂ™s using ALKS, potentially knocking the bike down. ItвЂ™s in this last situation that motorcycles get a mention. It also raises questions over how the systems will detect and respond to police vehicles, fire engines or ambulances trying to get past and how theyвЂ™ll sense low-energy collisions where thereвЂ™s a responsibility to stop. The consultation on the new system will ask whether there are any legal barriers to going ahead with it, how drivers should be educated to use the systems safely and what roles vehicle manufacturers and the government should have in providing that education. However, while the UNECE regulation requires drivers to take back control and responsibility above 38mph, the UK proposes to allow them to keep their hands off all the way up to the national speed limit of 70mph, creating a very different set of circumstances. The idea is that in slow-moving motorway traffic, cars with ALKS and radar cruise control will effectively be able to be self-driving. Under the new UNECE rules, drivers of cars with compliant systems will be allowed to keep their hands off the wheel indefinitely as long as the conditions are correct.

That means that if they sense a lack of interaction from the driver вЂ“ ie his or her hands are off the wheel for more than a few seconds вЂ“ theyвЂ™ll sound a warning and eventually disengage.

However, the current law doesnвЂ™t allow them to take control. Those rules are already set to be implemented across the EU, but the UK governmentвЂ™s consultation says that the UKвЂ™s decision to leave the EU вЂњoffers opportunities to go further and faster.вЂќДЄs a result, the plan is to adopt the UNECE rules but increase the maximum speed of ALKS use from 38mph to the national speed limit of 70mph.ДЄt the moment, an increasing number of cars have lane-assist systems that help keep them between the white lines on motorways, and several are already quite capable of operating without input from the driver even at high speed. The road is one where cyclists and pedestrians are prohibited and there is a physical centre separation from traffic coming the opposite way.The vehicle has done a self-check on its sensor systems.The weather and surroundings are suitable.A Data Storage System for Automated Driving (DSSAD)is in use (effectively an aircraft-style вЂblack boxвЂ™).The driver is confirmed as being вЂavailableвЂ™ via monitoring systems watching for things like eye movement and sensing if he/she touches the controls.The driver is in the driving seat and wearing a seatbelt.

The driver has deliberately activated the system.It will allow вЂM1вЂ™ category vehicles вЂ“ ie passenger cars вЂ“ to use Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS) at speeds of up to 60km/h (38mph) on motorways, allowing drivers of vehicles equipped with such systems to travels with their hands off the wheel in certain circumstances. The whole issue arises from the introduction of a new UNECE (United Nations Economic Committee for Europe) regulation, adopted in June this year and due in force in early 2021.

Hands off the wheel