Examining Drivers’ Sense of Agency When Operating Level 3 Automated Vehicles: A Driving Simulator Study

This study examined how transitions of control between human drivers and SAE Level 3 (L3) automated vehicles (AV) impact drivers’ sense of agency and their perceived danger, trust, and agreement with AV handoff decisions. Thirty-three participants completed a simulated drive comprising two types of scenarios (automated and takeover) in a high-fidelity L3 AV driving simulator. Participants reported their sense of agency (operationalized as perceived control), trust in the AV, perceived danger, and agreement with AV’s handoff decisions. In takeover scenarios, participants reported a higher sense of agency, which was associated with lower perceived danger and greater agreement with AV’s handoff decisions; in automated scenarios, sense of agency was lower, and these associations did not hold. These findings suggest that AV’s handoff requests to drivers in L3 vehicles may fundamentally alter drivers’ sense of agency and how they interpret danger. Understanding these dynamics can inform the design of safer human–automation systems.