Conceptualising user comfort in automated driving: Findings from an expert group workshop

The driving style of an automated vehicle (AV) needs to be comfortable to encourage the broad acceptance and use of this newly emerging transport mode. However, current research provides limited knowledge about what influences comfort, how this concept is described, and how it is measured. This knowledge is especially lacking when comfort is...

Triangulating the future: Developing scenarios of cyclist-automated vehicle interactions from literature, expert perspectives, and survey data

Automated vehicles pose a unique challenge to the safety of vulnerable road users. Research on cyclist-automated vehicle interaction has received relatively little attention compared to pedestrian safety. This exploratory study aims to bridge this gap by identifying cyclist-automated vehicle scenarios and providing recommendations for future...

Support systems for cyclists in automated traffic: A review and future outlook

Interaction with vulnerable road users in complex urban traffic environments poses a significant challenge for automated vehicles. Solutions to facilitate safe and acceptable interactions in future automated traffic include equipping automated vehicles and vulnerable road users, such as cyclists, with awareness or notification systems, as...

Exploring user comfort in automated driving: A qualitative study with younger and older users using the Wizard-Of-Oz method

As the introduction of automated vehicles (AVs) into road traffic accelerates, establishing user acceptance is increasingly crucial. User comfort, largely influenced by the AVs' driving styles, is one of the essential factors influencing acceptance. This video submission provides a methodological overview of a qualitative interview study,...

“Game over” for autonomous shuttles in mixed traffic? Results from field surveys among pedestrians and cyclists on how they interact with autonomous shuttles in real-life traffic in Norway

Towards common ethical and safe ‘behaviour’ standards for automated vehicles

Automated vehicles (AVs) aim to dramatically improve traffic safety by reducing or eliminating human error, which remains the leading cause of road crashes. However, commonly accepted standards for the ‘safe driving behaviour of machines’ are pending and urgently needed. Unless a common understanding of safety as a design value is achieved,...

Do cyclists need HMIs in future automated traffic?: An interview study

Cyclists are expected to interact with automated vehicles (AVs) in future traffic, yet we know little about the nature of this interaction and the safety implications of AVs on cyclists. On-bike human–machine interfaces (HMIs) and connecting cyclists to AVs and the road infrastructure may have the potential to enhance the safety of cyclists....

Will pedestrians cross the road before an automated vehicle?: The effect of drivers’ attentiveness and presence on pedestrians’ road crossing behavior

The impact of automated vehicles (AV) on pedestrians’ crossing behavior has been the topic of some recent studies, but findings are still scarce and inconclusive. The aim of this study is to determine whether the drivers’ presence and apparent attentiveness in a vehicle influences pedestrians’ crossing behavior, perceived behavioral control,...

Vulnerable road users and the coming wave of automated vehicles: Expert perspectives

Automated driving research over the past decades has mostly focused on highway environments. Recent technological developments have drawn researchers and manufacturers to look ahead at introducing automated driving in cities. The current position paper examines this challenge from the viewpoint of scientific experts. Sixteen Human Factors...

Cyclists’ crossing intentions when interacting with automated vehicles: A virtual reality study

Most of cyclists’ fatalities originate from collisions with motorized vehicles. It is expected that automated vehicles (AV) will be safer than human-driven vehicles, but this depends on the nature of interactions between non-automated road users, among them cyclists. Little research on the interactions between cyclists and AVs exists. This...

Pedestrians’ road crossing behaviour in front of automated vehicles: Results from a pedestrian simulation experiment using agent-based modelling

The objective of this research is to explore the relation between personal characteristics of pedestrians and their crossing behaviour in front of an automated vehicle (AV). For this purpose, a simulation experiment was developed using Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) techniques. Sixty participants were asked to cross the road in a virtual...

Cyclists’ intentions to yield for automated cars at intersections when they have right of way: Results of an experiment using high-quality video animations

What will cyclists do in future conflict situations with automated cars at intersections when the cyclist has the right of way? In order to explore this, short high-quality animation videos of conflicts between a car and a cyclist at five different intersections were developed. These videos were ‘shot’ from the perspective of the cyclist and...

Studying pedestrians’ crossing behavior when interacting with automated vehicles using virtual reality

Partially and fully automated vehicles (AVs) are being developed and tested in different countries. These vehicles are being designed to reduce and ultimately eliminate the role of human drivers in the future. However, other road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists will still be present and would need to interact with these automated...

WEpod WElly in Delft: Pedestrians’ crossing behavior when interacting with automated vehicles using Virtual Reality

Automated vehicles could have many impacts on society [1]. Taking the control of vehicles from human drivers, who by their nature make mistakes, and giving it to automated vehicles (AVs), which are believed to be accurate and reliable, could, in theory, increase safety. However, how non-automated road users will react and interact with...

Interaction between pedestrians and automated vehicles: A Wizard of Oz experiment

Automated vehicles (AVs) will be introduced on public roads in the future, meaning that traditional vehicles and AVs will be sharing the urban space. There is currently little knowledge about the interaction between pedestrians and AVs from the point of view of the pedestrian in a real-life environment. Pedestrians may not know with which...

Cyclists’ expectations when encountering automated vehicles: results of an international photo-based questionnaire

In the future, cyclists will be sharing the roads with automated and traditional vehicles [1]. Interactions between cyclists and automated vehicles (AVs) may differ from interactions with traditional vehicles, because cyclists may hold incorrect expectations about how AVs will react to their presence, leading to confusing and risky situations....

Interactions between vulnerable road users and automated vehicles: A synthesis of literature and framework for future research

Partially and fully automated vehicles (AVs) are being developed and tested in different countries. These vehicles are being designed to reduce and ultimately eliminate the role of human drivers in the future. Most fatal accidents of vulnerable road users (VRUs), pedestrians, cyclists and mopeds, involve a motorized vehicle. In addition, most of...