Dimensions of attitudes to autonomous vehicles

Abstract

For the benefits of autonomous vehicles (AVs) to be optimized, the fleet conversion process needs to be efficient and timely. This study explored public attitudes to AVs to inform strategies to increase receptivity to the wide-scale use of AVs. A national online survey was administered to a sample of 1,624 Australians aged 16+ years. The survey featured open-ended questions that scoped respondents' perceptions of AVs. A grounded, thematic analysis identified two primary dimensions in the data: response valence (how positive or negative the comments were about the advent of AVs) and response type (the extent to which the comments reflected a cognitive or emotional response). This resulted in a dimensional analysis featuring four quadrants that captured the topics that were most frequently raised spontaneously by respondents. The quadrant characterized by comments that were positive/neutral and cognitive in nature was the most substantial, indicating general acceptance. Where concerns were expressed, they typically related to perceived safety, trust, and control issues, and tended to be more emotional in nature. The results highlight the importance of providing the public with concrete information about AVs to address fear levels and to resolve trust and control issues.

How different autonomous vehicle presentation influences its acceptance: Is a communal car better than agentic one?

“…According to observer's (agent's) perspective, people want to know how communal an AV is (how agentic an AV is). These results supported H1, and are consistent with a previous study [16] which reported that people expect tangible information about control issues of AVs and their safety. These results are also coherent with the notion that the communion and agency are distinctly expressed in natural language [79,132].…”

“…Finally, AVs enable comfortable traveling for people unfit for independent driving, e.g., the elderly and people with disabilities [ 15 ]. However, introduction of AVs is connected with multiple challenges such as safety, legal liability, ethical questions and regulatory issues, which result in consumers’ fear towards this tech [ 16 – 18 ]. AVs also are a challenge to the traditional role of drivers and driving pleasure [ 19 ].…”

Physiological Measurements in Social Acceptance of Self Driving Technologies

“…Most studies on attitudes and trust towards autonomous technology utilize self-reporting questionnaires (e.g. [17,18]). This approach has several limitations: rst, the vast majority of participants respond without any prior experience as a passenger or driver of self-driving vehicles.…”

“…Epochs with a signal range exceeding 100 µV (typically due to movement or blink artefacts) were excluded from further analysis. Power spectral densities (PSD) were calculated to alpha (8-12 Hz), beta(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30) and gamma(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45) band ranges utilizing the Welch method. For each epoch, an index for valence (affectivity) and arousal were computed.…”

Autonomous vehicles and cycling: Policy implications and management issues

“…The transport sector is in a phase of rapid change due to the emergence of autonomous vehicles (AVs) ( Crayton and Meier, 2017 ; Fagnant and Kockelman, 2015 ). Numerous AV trials are in progress at sites all around the world, and anticipated user response has been the subject of an increasing number of studies (e.g., Kyriakidis et al, 2015 ; Bansal and Kockelman, 2017 ; Pettigrew et al, 2018 , Pettigrew et al, 2019b ). AVs are projected to have a significant impact on the future of urban mobility, and it is widely expected that they will have the potential to offer door-to-door solutions, which could be especially beneficial for those with mobility limitations ( Kovacs et al, 2020 ; Pettigrew et al, 2019a ).…”