Research Review with Nichole Morris, Ph.D., and Katelyn Schwieters, Ph.D.
Speaker(s): Nichole L. Morris, Ph.D., Research Associate Professor, University of Minnesota, Director of the Human Factors Safety Laboratory, University of Minnesota
Katelyn Schwieters, Ph.D., Research Fellow at the Human Factors Safety Laboratory, University of Minnesota
Presentation Title: Examining Driver Takeover Decisions and Trust of AVs at Rural Intersections
Research: Examining Driver Hand-off and Take-over of AVs at J-turn Intersections
Date/Time: Tuesday, February 24th, 2026 | 1:00 PM ET
Continuing Education Units (CEU): .1*
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Abstract: This work explored whether the complexity of different rural intersections influenced driver trust and comfort in a conditionally automated vehicle (i.e., level 3 SAE) navigating the intersection for them. In an online survey platform (UMN Qualtrics), 271 participants watched five brief curated videos of a simulated automated vehicle navigating different rural intersections, with or without the presence of traffic, made a decision about whether they would like to take over control, and rated their trust and comfort with the automated vehicle navigating each intersection. Intersection type was not predictive of AV trust and comfort with navigating the different intersections, however, drivers’ takeover decisions, level of education, past experience driving on J-turn intersections, and urbanicity predicted the level of trust and comfort with the automated vehicle. The outcome of this work led to the development of a repository of curated simulated videos that were made publicly available for future research projects.
Speaker Bios:
Nichole is the Director of the Human Factors Safety Laboratory and Associate Research Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. She is a research scholar at the Center for Transportation Studies and a graduate faculty member of the UMN Human Factors and Ergonomics Program. Her research interests include user-centered design in high-risk domains, simulation, crash reporting, and human performance.
Katelyn is a Research Fellow in the Human Factors Safety Laboratory at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include error analysis and performance assessment, advanced statistics, training, and treatment disparities in prehospital care and combat medicine.