The Impact of Explanation Detail in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems: User Experience, Acceptance, and Age-Related Effects

User understanding and confidence are critical in the context of advanced intelligent driver assistance systems (ADAS) to ensure the desired response and prevent manual countersteering during automated maneuvers. However, the interventions of advanced ADAS can sometimes be unexpected and disruptive to drivers, especially when the reasons are unclear. In our study, we investigated the effects of differently presented explanations provided by a driver assistance system. We presented participants with three scenarios from the driver's perspective and created two videos for each scenario with explanations of varying detail. Participants were asked to answer two questionnaires following each video. The results show that more detailed explanations generally lead to a better user experience and higher confidence in the system's performance. We also discuss the possible influence of age and technology acceptance in our article.