ABSTRACT
Where has the current trend in vehicle automation and technology come from? Aviation is often assumed to be the basic model that other transport modes look to, and with good reason. Here the power and autonomy of automated systems – from flight management through to auto-land – is considerable and long standing. But if aviation really is the basic model, then it can do more than inspire just the ‘technological’ trajectory; it can also reveal to us some of the underlying human factors issues. In this chapter we will explore the costs and benefits of automation already visible in the aviation sector and map them across to road vehicles. The findings are intriguing. Clearly, there are areas where automation can provide benefits to the driver, but there are other areas where this is less likely to be the case. Automation per se is not a guarantee of success; moreover, it is the lack of human factors input that serves as an important contingent variable.
