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Pedestrians’ Attitudes Towards Automated Vehicles: A Qualitative Study Based on Interviews in Germany

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Proceedings of the 21st Congress of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA 2021) (IEA 2021)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems ((LNNS,volume 221))

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Abstract

For the successful implementation and acceptance in road traffic, pedestrians’ attitudes towards safety, interaction and compatibility of AVs are important factors. The aim of this study is to investigate general attitudes towards AVs and to generate knowledge about aspects of safety and compatibility of AVs as well as interaction with AVs from the viewpoint of pedestrians. Semi-structured interviews with 24 participants were conducted in Germany between May and July 2020. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using Qualitative Content Analysis. The classification of participants regarding their general attitude towards AVs resulted in four categories, ranging from enthusiastic to rejecting attitudes. Our results revealed that safety attitudes are a major factor underlying pedestrians’ general attitudes towards AVs. Confidence to cross the road in front of AVs was influenced by the ability of AVs to successfully interact and communicate with pedestrians. We conclude that pedestrians’ attitudes towards AVs may change with increasing interaction experience.

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Acknowledgements

This work is a result of the research project @CITY – Automated Cars and Intelligent Traffic in the City. The project is supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), based on a decision taken by the German Bundestag, grant number 19A18003M. The authors are solely responsible for the content of this publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Human Factors and Ergonomics, Technical University of Darmstadt, Otto-Berndt-Straße 2, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany

    Philip Joisten, Pia Niessen & Bettina Abendroth

  2. Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI, Breslauer Straße 48, 76139, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Pia Niessen

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  1. Philip Joisten
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  2. Pia Niessen
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  3. Bettina Abendroth
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Correspondence to Philip Joisten .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Département de génie mécanique, Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB, Canada

    Nancy L. Black

  2. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    W. Patrick Neumann

  3. Toronto, ON, Canada

    Ian Noy

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Joisten, P., Niessen, P., Abendroth, B. (2021). Pedestrians’ Attitudes Towards Automated Vehicles: A Qualitative Study Based on Interviews in Germany. In: Black, N.L., Neumann, W.P., Noy, I. (eds) Proceedings of the 21st Congress of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA 2021). IEA 2021. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 221. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74608-7_81

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74608-7_81

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-74607-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-74608-7

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