A method of maintaining occupant awareness in a vehicle , the method comprising: autonomously controlling, by an autonomous control system connected to one or more processors , operation of the vehicle ; determining, by the one or more processors , a location at which an occupant within the vehicle is gazing ; generating, by the one or more processors and when the determined location indicates that the occupant is not gazing in a direction in which the vehicle is traveling, one or more contextual images depicting a forward view of the vehicle assisting the occupant in maintaining awareness of a context in which the vehicle is currently operating ; determining, by the one or more processors , that the vehicle is no longer able to autonomously control the operation of the vehicle ; determining, by the one or more processors , a visual emphasis score based on a closing rate of each object surrounding the vehicle in conjunction with a notification from another vehicle that such vehicle is braking; adjusting, based on the visual emphasis score, the transparency of the contextual images comprising the forward view that is associated with a condition in the scene; presenting, by a display and based on the determined location, the one or more contextual images proximate to the determined location within the cabin of the vehicle , to assist the occupant in assuming control of the vehicle ; determining, by the one or more processors, a duration before handoff of control of the vehicle to the occupant; presenting the one or more contextual images for the determined duration; and after presenting the contextual images, transferring, by the one or more processors, control of the operation of the vehicle to the occupant . autonomously controlling, by an autonomous control system connected to one or more processors , operation of the vehicle ; determining, by the one or more processors , a location at which an occupant within the vehicle is gazing ; generating, by the one or more processors and when the determined location indicates that the occupant is not gazing in a direction in which the vehicle is traveling, one or more contextual images depicting a forward view of the vehicle assisting the occupant in maintaining awareness of a context in which the vehicle is currently operating ; determining, by the one or more processors , that the vehicle is no longer able to autonomously control the operation of the vehicle ; determining, by the one or more processors , a visual emphasis score based on a closing rate of each object surrounding the vehicle in conjunction with a notification from another vehicle that such vehicle is braking; adjusting, based on the visual emphasis score, the transparency of the contextual images comprising the forward view that is associated with a condition in the scene; presenting, by a display and based on the determined location, the one or more contextual images proximate to the determined location within the cabin of the vehicle , to assist the occupant in assuming control of the vehicle ; determining, by the one or more processors, a duration before handoff of control of the vehicle to the occupant; presenting the one or more contextual images for the determined duration; and after presenting the contextual images, transferring, by the one or more processors, control of the operation of the vehicle to the occupant . <EOS>