One-pedal or two-pedal: Does the regenerative braking system improve driving safety?

Electric vehicles equipped with regenerative braking systems provide drivers a new driving mode, the one-pedal mode, which enables drivers to accelerate and decelerate with the throttle alone. However, there is a lack of systematic research on driving behavior in one-pedal mode, and whether it actually enhances or reduces safety remains to be validated. A driving simulator was used to analyze driving behavior and safety in the one-pedal mode in situations with different urgency level, with the two-pedal mode (the traditional driving mode in internal combustion engine vehicles) serving as a comparative group. The driver’s perception times, initial and final throttle release times, throttle to brake transition times, maximum brake pedal forces, collision ratios, and time-to-collision (TTC) were measured under the lead vehicle decelerating at 0.1 g, 0.2 g, 0.5 g, 0.75 g, as well as uncertainty (decelerating at 0.2 g to 25 km/h, then decelerating at 0.75 g to 0), and under headways of 1.5 s and 2.5 s. Results showed: 1) The regenerative braking system did not affect driver perception and reaction of the lead vehicle braking event and drivers extended throttle release to avoid rapid speed drops when the lead vehicle braked slowly; 2) the one-pedal mode exhibited a longer throttle to brake transition time and increased uncertainty in timing of brake pedal application; 3) the one-pedal mode was safer than the two-pedal mode in low urgency situations but became unsafe in high urgency or uncertain situations due to delayed braking. The implications of this research include enhancing regenerative braking systems and developing forward collision warning systems.