Attitudes towards autonomous vehicles among people with physical disabilities

Abstract

Attitudes of a sample of 211 UK people who are blind concerning autonomous vehicles (AVs), and the determinants of the willingness of people who are blind to travel in AVs, were examined. Participants answered an open-ended question regarding their attitudes towards AVs and the results were analysed using a semi-automated structural topic modelling procedure. Four "topics" emerged from the exercise: (i) "hope" for future independence and freedom to travel offered by AVs to people who are blind, (ii) scepticism that AVs will ever be configured to meet the needs of people who are blind, (iii) concerns over safety, and (iv) the affordability of AVs. The four topics were employed as mediating variables in a structural equation model designed to explain the respondents' willingness to travel in an AV. A number of covariates were presumed to influence the four mediating topics, including a participant's desire for independence, comorbidity, locus of control, and level of generalised anxiety. Three of the mediating variables exerted significant influences on willingness to travel in an AV, i.e., hope for future independence, misgivings about safety, and affordability. Scepticism about AVs did not have a significant effect. Several implications for AV design and for the creation of public information messages promoting AVs are suggested. In particular, public information campaigns should emphasise the freedom to travel that AVs will provide for people who are blind; reassurances concerning safety; and the inevitability of AVs appearing on the roads of economically developed countries.

Willingness of people who are blind to accept autonomous vehicles: An empirical investigation

“…Haboucha, Ishaq, and Shiftan (2017) study of 721 US and Israeli drivers found that at least 44% of the sample had severe hesitations about using an AV. Other surveys have produced similar results (see Bennett et al, 2019). Thus, the outcomes to the present study reinforce the observation of Konig and Neumayr (2017) that for all groups, including people who are blind, "the widespread acceptance and hence adoption of this new technology is far from certain" (p. 42).…”

Individual Predictors of Autonomous Vehicle Public Acceptance and Intention to Use: A Systematic Review of the Literature

“…Personal innovativeness (Tech savviness): AVs project an image of technological innovation, which can positively affect tech-savvy individuals' adoption trend [40,90,97]. This means that enthusiasts who are willing to try new technologies before others may perceive greater comfort and safety via AVs [60,121], and are likely to be early AV adopters [13,62,82,92].…”

“…This means that enthusiasts who are willing to try new technologies before others may perceive greater comfort and safety via AVs [60,121], and are likely to be early AV adopters [13,62,82,92]. • Awareness of AVs: Current knowledge about AVs seems to differ considerably across different socio-demographic clusters and might influence adoption likelihoods and concerns [11,97,99,134].…”

Urban Artificial Intelligence: From Automation to Autonomy in the Smart City

“…Conversely, private and highly comfortable autonomous cars which drive themselves while their users can work or sleep, might prompt "people to travel more frequently and across greater distances, " thus fostering commuting, suburbanization, an energy-intensive lifestyle and, in essence, the production of car-centric urban spaces (Hawkins and Nurul Habib, 2019, p. 69). In addition to reshaping the built environment and the geography of housing, the transition to autonomous cars is also likely to reshape urban mobility, particularly in relation to people with disabilities and minors currently not allowed to employ a car (Bennett et al, 2019). Last but not least, the emergence of artificial intelligences in urban transport poses concrete ethical challenges.…”