AVSC Best Practice for Developing ADS Safety Performance Thresholds Based on Human Driving Behavior

Automated driving system (ADS) developers need a way to describe safe and competent driving for automated driving system-dedicated vehicles (ADS-DVs) in a way that is relatable to how stakeholders interpret safe driving today. Metrics informed by competent and safe human behavior could improve understanding and confidence in ADS-DVs. One way to make ADS safety performance relatable to stakeholders is to adopt an intuitive comparison to behaviors displayed on the road by human drivers.

This best practice outlines an approach which involves comparing the on-road driving behavior of ADSs to that of human drivers, aiming to gain a deeper understanding of ADS behavior and its implications. It includes and assessment that centers on the predictability and similarity of ADS behavior relative to observed human driving behavior. By adopting this approach, a more comprehensive evaluation of the performance of ADS fleets can be achieved. It empowers developers to identify areas for improvement and potentially unknown unsafe behaviors.