Fleets on the streets: How number, affiliation and purpose of shared-lane automated vehicle convoys influence public perception and blame

Gilbert, Thomas Krendl; Qu, Noah Zijie; Ju, Wendy; Li, Jamy

Abstract

Automated vehicles (AVs) may have broad uses in society, but some applications may be more acceptable than others. Determining contexts in which AVs can acceptably operate is a substantial challenge for policy makers. In an online YouGov survey (N = 1175) with text-and-image vignettes of a one- or three-lane road section, AV convoys that shared lanes with a normal vehicle were perceived less positively and led to greater blame toward their owning institutions than lone AVs. AVs affiliated with a private commercial company were perceived less positively than those affiliated with a public transit agency. AVs used to regulate traffic of the vehicles behind them were blamed more than AVs used to navigate through traffic to reach a destination. These results suggest that numerical balance, vehicle affiliation and intended purpose are aspects of future AV policies for mixed traffic in shared lanes that will influence people's impressions of automated vehicles on public roads.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 14, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Feb 6, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023-02
• Deposit Date: May 7, 2024
• Journal: Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour
• Print ISSN: 1369-8478
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 93
• Pages: 294-308
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2023.01.013