Automated Vehicle Disengagement Reaction Time Compared to Human Brake Reaction Time in Both Automobile and Motorcycle Operation 2019-01-1010

Autonomous Vehicle Disengagement Reports have been published by the California Department of Motor Vehicles since 2015. The State of California autonomous vehicle testing regulations require every manufacturer authorized to test autonomous vehicles on public roads to submit an annual report summarizing disengagements. In early versions of the annual report, automated vehicle manufacturers were required to provide the time that it took for a human driver to take manual control of the vehicle when reporting vehicle disengagements. This study analyzes reported automated vehicle disengagement reaction times from 2015 through 2017 for various manufacturers that provided information to the California Department of Motor Vehicles while operating vehicles in autonomous mode. This study compares the reported automated vehicle operation disengagement reaction time to field literature in testing and experimentation on human brake reaction times for both automobile and motorcycle operation.