Driver trust in and training for advanced driver assistance systems in Real-World driving

Two-hundred and twenty-three participants completed an online survey regarding their experiences with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) on their personal vehicles, with focus on 1) drivers’ trust in 13 ADAS technologies, and 2) perceived effectiveness of currently used methods of training. Eighteen drivers participated in focus groups designed to probe more deeply into survey responses. Results of the survey showed that participant ratings of trust increased significantly with longer vehicle ownership, but participants who experienced unexpected ADAS technology behavior rated their trust over time significantly lower on ADAS technologies with the exception of rear collision avoidance. The majority (75.8%) of participants reported receiving some ADAS instruction at their vehicle dealership, but only 16.6% indicated it was formal. Participants who received formalized training reported it to be significantly more effective than those who received informal overviews of their systems. Use of trial and error and the owner’s manual were the most frequently reported methods of learning outside of dealership training. Responses indicated that the lack of content tailored to trim-specific vehicle features in owner’s manuals was a barrier to effective use.     

Assessing the feasibility of the theory of planned behaviour in predicting drivers’ intentions to operate conditional and full automated vehicles

Guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), this study examined the beliefs underpinning, and feasibility of the factors in predicting, individuals’ intentions to use a conditional (Level 3) automated vehicle (AV) and a full (Level 5) AV. Australian drivers (N = 505) aged 17–81 years (Mean age = 33.69, SD = 18.79) were recruited and completed a 20 min online survey which featured both quantitative and qualitative items. For the quantitative data, two linear regressions revealed that the TPB standard constructs of attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control (PBC) accounted for 66% of the variance in intentions to use a conditional AV and 68% of the variance in intentions to use a full AV. Of the TPB constructs, attitudes and subjective norms were significant positive predictors of future intentions to use conditional and full AVs. For the qualitative data, some differences emerged for the underlying behavioural beliefs that underpinned intentions to use conditional and full AVs. For example, having beliefs about control over the conditional AV was identified by many participants as an advantage, while not being in full control of the full AV was identified as a disadvantage. For underlying control beliefs, participants identified similar barriers for both vehicle types, including; high costs, lack of trust, lack of control over the vehicle, lack of current legislation to support the mainstream introduction of these vehicles, and concerns of safety for self and for other road users when operating AVs. Overall, these findings provide some support for applying the TPB to understand drivers’ intended use of AVs. However, while the current study showed that the constructs of attitudes and subjective norms might reflect intended use of AVs, more research is required to further examine the role of PBC. Additionally, the findings provide initial insights into the underlying behavioural and control beliefs that may motivate drivers to use AVs and highlight the similarities and differences in drivers’ perceptions towards two levels of vehicle automation.     

Investigating the motivational factors influencing drivers intentions to unsafe driving behaviours: Speeding and overtaking violations

Achieving road safety depends on driver attitudes and behaviours in handling the vehicle on roads. The availability of good road, improvement of vehicle designs and drivers experience lead to reduction in crashes but not prevention of crashes. The study aims to predict the drivers’ intentions towards speeding and overtaking violations when under the influence of motivational factors using belief measure of TPB and DBQ variables. To achieve this, questionnaires were randomly administered to a sample of Ghanaian drivers (N = 354) who held valid driving licenses. This study applied regression techniques. The result shows that the components of TPB and DBQ variables were able to predict drivers’ intentions towards speeding and overtaking violations. The study further shows that components of TPB made larger contributions to the prediction of divers’ intentions to speeding and overtaking than the DBQ. Further analysis revealed that, in the prediction of drivers’ intentions, speeding attitude was the most frequent violations compared to overtaking. The drivers tend to involved in overtaking violations when they perceived the driving motivations would enhance the performance of the behaviour. Additionally, control belief has been the strongest predictor of drivers’ intentions under the influence of motivations to speeding and overtaking violations. It appeared that the drivers who intended to involve in speeding and overtaking violations had strong beliefs in the factors and are more likely to violate based on their beliefs. The practical implications of the findings for the development of interventions to promote road safety and positive changes are also discussed.     

Safety at first sight? – Manual drivers’ experience and driving behavior at first contact with Level 3 vehicles in mixed traffic on the highway

Soon, manual drivers will interact with conditionally automated vehicles (CAVs; SAE Level 3) in a mixed traffic on highways. As of yet, it is largely unclear how manual drivers will perceive and react to this new type of vehicle. In a driving simulator study with N = 51 participants aged 20 to 71 years (22 female), we examined the experience and driving behavior of manual drivers at first contact with Level 3 vehicles in four realistic driving scenarios (highway entry, overtaking, merging, introduction of a speed limit) that Level 3 vehicles may handle alone once their operational domain extends beyond driving in congested traffic. We also investigated the effect of an external marking via a visual external human–machine interface (eHMI), with participants being randomly assigned to one of three experimental groups (none, correct, incorrect marking). Participants experienced each driving scenario four times, twice with a human-driven vehicle (HDV), and twice with a CAV. After each interaction, participants rated perceived driving mode of the target vehicle as well as perceived safety and comfort. Minimum time headways between participants and target vehicles served as an indicator of safety criticality in the interactions. Results showed manual driver can distinguish CAVs from HDVs based on behavioral differences. In all driving scenarios, participants rated interactions with CAVs at least as safe as interactions with HDVs. The driving data analysis showed that manual driver interactions with CAVs were largely uncritical. However, the CAVs’ strict rule-compliance led to short time headways of following manual drivers in some cases. The eHMI used in this study neither affected the subjective ratings of the manual drivers nor their driving behavior in mixed traffic. Thus, the results do not support the use of eHMIs on the highway, at least not for the eHMI design used in this study.     

Evidence that implementation intentions reduce drivers’ use of mobile phones while driving

Implementation intentions are IF-THEN plans that have the potential to reduce mobile phone use while driving and thus contribute towards the prevention of road traffic crashes. We tested whether an intervention, designed to promote the formation of implementation intentions, could reduce drivers’ use of mobile phones. A randomized controlled design was used. The participants (N = 136) were randomised to an implementation intention or a control condition. Self-report questionnaires were administered to all participants at both pre- and one-month post-intervention to measure the use of mobile phones while driving, goal intentions and the theoretically derived motivational pre-cursors of goal intentions (attitudes, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control). Immediately following the pre-intervention questionnaire, the participants in the implementation intention condition (n = 67) were given a volitional help sheet, which asked them to form implementation intentions by specifying target driving situations that tempted them the most to use a mobile phone and linking them with goal-directed responses that could be used to resist the temptation. The participants in the control condition (n = 69) were asked to specify target situations that tempted them the most to use a mobile phone while driving and to generally try to avoid using a mobile phone in those situations. One-month post-intervention, the participants in the implementation intention condition reported using a mobile phone less often while driving in their specified target driving situations than did the participants in the control condition. As expected, no differences were found between the conditions in the reported frequency of mobile phone use in unspecified driving situations, goal intentions or any motivational pre-cursor of goal intentions. The implementation intention intervention that was tested in this study is a potentially effective tool for reducing mobile phone use while driving in target driving situations, where behaviour-change is most needed.     

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS): Demographics,preferred sources of information,and accuracy of ADAS knowledge

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in passenger vehicles can improve highway safety. ADAS place powerful, yet imperfect, automation in the hands of drivers who hold both misconceptions and reservations about ADAS. There is little previous research on drivers’ knowledge of ADAS, and even less on sources of information drivers use to inform their knowledge. The present study addressed this gap, testing hypotheses about influences on understanding of seven ADAS in 634 licensed US drivers (aged 18–82). Multiple regression to predict self-assessed driver characteristics revealed: (a) Drivers who rated themselves as more technically sophisticated tended to be young and male, to be at once less objectively knowledgeable and more confident of their knowledge of ADAS, to avoid car dealers for ADAS information, and to value brand status; (b) Drivers who rated themselves as faster to adopt new technology also tended to be male but to be more objectively knowledgeable about ADAS and to prefer learning about ADAS from owner manuals; (c) Drivers who rated themselves as more confident in using novel vehicle technology tended to be young males with greater objective knowledge of ADAS who valued “hands-on” ADAS experience; (d) Drivers who rated themselves as more concerned about vehicle safety tended to be female, to value crash data, and to rely on hands-on experience to learn about ADAS; (e) Drivers who rated themselves as having greater aesthetic concerns tended to rely on information on styles, colors, wheels when buying a new car and preferred specific ADAS components. Neither of the latter two differed in objective ADAS knowledge. These results make a novel contribution in revealing how driver demographics and characteristics are related to preference for specific sources of information on ADAS and objective knowledge of ADAS. These results can inform future efforts to increase driver understanding of the capabilities and limitations of ADAS and hence increase public safety.     

Longer-term exposure vs training: Their effect on drivers' mental models of ADAS technology

Drivers often learn about the advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) on their vehicles over time and through trial and error. While this experience can aid drivers’ understanding about the systems, it may not necessarily lead to sufficient and accurate mental models, especially concerning less frequent “edge case” situations. This study recruited 39 new owners of vehicles equipped with ADAS technology to which the owners were naïve. The initial mental model of these owners was evaluated using a mental model assessment. To understand changes in mental models over time the assessment was repeated six times over the course of approximately 6 months. Weekly mileage, technology usage, and information regarding their exposure to edge case scenarios was also collected. At the end of the 6 months, participants completed a simulator drive using adaptive cruise control (ACC) that included several edge cases. Over the course of the first 6 months of vehicle ownership, drivers’ scores on the mental model assessment improved. These improvements were largely due to increased understanding of the technology’s limitations as opposed to improvements in knowledge about system function. With respect to driving performance in the simulator session, the mental model scores were not predictive of responses to the edge cases. However, a comparison of those mental model scores against weak and strong mental model benchmark scores gathered in a previous study revealed that mental models improve over 6 months (for some drivers), but not to the level of understanding of a group that received a short but extensive introduction to ACC. This suggests that there is room for improvement in how drivers gain understanding about driver support features and further underscores the need of training and education for proper use and interactions.     

Antecedent variables of intentions to use an autonomous shuttle: Moving beyond TAM and TPB?

IntroductionThe use of autonomous shuttles (AS) seems a promising mobility solution. Technology acceptance model (TAM) and theory of planned behavior (TPB) provide useful a priori frameworks to study AS’ acceptance, but they might arguably benefit from a specific, AS-related adjustment.ObjectiveTo provide a preliminary model of AS’ acceptance based on both laboratory and field data.MethodUndergraduate students (n = 370, study 1) and both the potential and the real AS users (n = 162, study 2) answered surveys concerned with the key TAM, TPB and evidence-based additional variables.ResultsSome of TAM and TPB constructs accounted for 40% of intentions to use an AS while further 13 to 16% were explained systematically by such variables as group norms, affective attitudes and first AS experience.ConclusionSome of TAM and TPB constructs capture substantial proportion of AS’ acceptance while additional social, motivational and experience-related factors should be taken into account.     

Key factors associated with Australian parents’ willingness to use an automated vehicle to transport their unaccompanied children

This study aimed to identify the key factors associated with Australian parents' willingness to use an automated vehicle to transport their unaccompanied child(ren). Seven hundred and seventy-five participants completed the online survey (M = 40.7 years, SD = 8.9 years, Range = 18.0–65.0 years; Female: 56.4%). Most participants reported that they would 'never' use an automated vehicle to transport their unaccompanied child(ren) (43.5%). The results of a logistic regression model showed that participants' age, gender, level of education, propensity for technology adoption, aberrant driving behaviours, awareness of advanced driver assistance safety (ADAS) technologies, perceived knowledge regarding automated vehicles, as well their requirements for assurance-related vehicle features were significantly associated with their willingness to use an automated vehicle to transport their unaccompanied child(ren), χ2(12) = 137.41, p < 0.001). Overall, the findings suggest that Australian parents are mostly unwilling to use an automated vehicle to transport their unaccompanied child(ren) unless various reassurance features and technologies (i.e., microphones, camera, ability to summon assistance if the vehicle breaks down) are embedded in the vehicle. Therefore, automated vehicle manufacturers are encouraged to consider these requirements when prototyping their designs so that all user groups, including child occupants, can benefit from the impending arrival of automated technologies.     

Assessing the potential impacts of connected vehicle systems on Driver’s situation awareness and driving performance

Vehicles equipped with connected vehicle technologies are able to communicate with each other and with infrastructures. Compared to Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS) using camera systems and sensor technologies, the Connected Vehicle Systems (CVS) leverage the wireless communication networks to detect hazards with a greater range, alert drivers of hazards much earlier, and therefore enhance driving safety. However, drivers’ reliance on the CVS to detect critical situations could negatively affect them maintaining situation awareness (SA) in noncritical situations when no warning is issued by the CVS. The present study conducted a driving simulator experiment with 40 participants to investigate the effect of connected vehicle systems on driver SA in normal, noncritical driving scenarios after they were exposed to the CVS with different designs of collision warning lead time (3 s, 6 s, and no warnings). After drivers experienced the CVS-supported warnings with the assigned design of lead time in critical situations, driver SA was measured in normal driving conditions using the freeze probe technique. Results revealed that drivers who experienced the CVS with early warnings (6 s) showed lower SA for normal driving events compared to those who experienced the CVS with late warnings (3 s) or no warnings. Although early warnings of CVS brought more safety benefits to drivers in critical situations, the degraded driver SA due to drivers’ reliance on such warning systems could endanger drivers when a system failure occurred. These findings highlight the importance of balancing the effects of warning lead time on driver SA and driving performance in designing connected vehicle systems.     

Manual drivers’ experience and driving behavior in repeated interactions with automated Level 3 vehicles in mixed traffic on the highway

In the near future, conditionally automated vehicles (CAVs; SAE Level 3) will travel alongside manual drivers (≤ SAE level 2) in mixed traffic on the highway. It is yet unclear how manual drivers will react to these vehicles beyond first contact when they interact repeatedly with multiple CAVs on longer highway sections or even during entire highway trips. In a driving simulator study, we investigated the subjective experience and behavioral reactions of N = 51 manual drivers aged 22 to 74 years (M = 41.5 years, SD = 18.1, 22 female) to driving in mixed traffic in repeated interactions with first-generation Level 3 vehicles on four highway sections (each 35 km long), each of which included three typical speed limits (80 km/h, 100 km/h, 130 km/h) on German highways. Moreover, the highway sections differed regarding the penetration rate of CAVs in mixed traffic (within-subjects factor; 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%). The drivers were assigned to one of three experimental groups, in which the CAVs differed regarding their external marking, (1) status eHMI, (2) no eHMI, and (3) a control group without information about the mixed traffic. After each highway section, drivers rated perceived safety, comfort, and perceived efficiency. Drivers were also asked to estimate the penetration rate of CAVs on the previous highway section. In addition, we analyzed drivers’ average speed and their minimum time headways to lead vehicles for each speed zone (80 km/h, 100 km/h, 130 km/h) as well as the percentage of safety critical interactions with lead vehicles (< 1 s time headway). Results showed that manual drivers experienced driving in mixed traffic, on average, as more uncomfortable, less safe and less efficient than driving in manual traffic, but not as dangerous. A status eHMI helps manual drivers identify CAVs in mixed traffic, but the eHMI had no effect on manual drivers’ subjective ratings or driving behavior. Starting at a level of 25% Level 3 vehicles in mixed traffic, participants' average speed decreased significantly. At the same time, the percentage of safety critical interactions with lead vehicles increased with an increasing penetration rate of CAVs. Accordingly, additional measures may be necessary in order to at least keep the existing safety level of driving on the highway.     

To share or not to share: A theoretically guided investigation of factors predicting intentions to use fully automated shared passenger shuttles

This study applied the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to assess individuals’ intentions to use fully automated shared passenger shuttles when they become publicly available. In addition, perceived trust was assessed to examine the extent to which this variable could account for additional variance in intentions above the TPB constructs of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control (PBC). Further, and also guided by the TPB, the study explored the differences in behavioural, normative, and control beliefs between individuals who reported high intentions to use automated passenger shuttles in the future (high intenders) and individuals who reported low intentions to use fully automated shared passenger shuttles in the future (low intenders). Participants (N = 438; 64% female) aged between 17 and 84 years (Mage = 35.42 years) were asked to complete an online questionnaire which took approximately 15 min. The findings revealed that attitudes, subjective norms, and PBC were significant positive predictors of intentions to use fully automated shared passenger shuttles when they become publicly available. When perceived trust was added to the hierarchical regression, this variable was shown to account for additional significant variance in intentions above the TPB constructs and was shown to be a significant positive predictor of intentions. Further, the results revealed significant differences in beliefs held by high and low intenders. Specifically, high intenders held significantly more positive beliefs towards fully automated shared passenger shuttles than low intenders. In turn, low intenders held significantly more negative beliefs towards these vehicles than high intenders. Overall, these findings provide support for the utility of the TPB in examining individuals’ intentions to use fully automated shared passenger shuttles when they become publicly available.     

Timing of early warning stages in a multi stage collision warning system: Drivers’ evaluation depending on situational influences

By means of car2x communication technologies (car2x) driver warnings can be presented to drivers quite early. However, due to their early timing they could be misunderstood by drivers, distract or even disturb them. These problems arise if, at the moment of the warning, the safety–critical situation is not yet perceivable or critical. In order to examine, when drivers want to receive early warnings as a function of the situation criticality, a driving simulator study was conducted using the two early warning stages of a multi stage collision warning system (first stage: informing the driver; second stage: prewarning the driver). The optimum timing to activate these two early warning stages was derived by examining the drivers’ evaluation of these timings concerning their appropriateness and usefulness. As situational variation, drivers traveling at about 100 km/h were confronted with slow moving traffic either driving at 25 km/h or 50 km/h at the end of a rural road.In total, 24 participants were tested in a within-subjects design (12 female, 12 male; M = 26.6 years, SD = 7.2 years). For both stages, drivers preferred an earlier timing when approaching slow moving traffic traveling at 25 km/h (first stage: 447 m, second stage: 249 m ahead of the lead vehicle) compared to 50 km/h (first stage: 338 m, second stage: 186 m ahead of the lead vehicle). The drivers’ usefulness rating also varied with the timing, spanning a range of 8 s for driver-accepted timing variations and showed correspondence to the drivers’ appropriateness ratings. Based on these results and those of a previous study, a timing function for each of the two early warning stages depending on the speed difference between the safety–critical object and the host vehicle is presented. Indirectly, similar adaptations are already implemented in current collision warning systems, which use the time-to-collision to give drivers acute warnings in a later stage, when an immediate reaction of the driver may still prevent a collision. However, this study showed that drivers also favor this kind of adaptation for earlier warning stages (information and prewarning). Thus, adapting the timing according to the drivers’ preferences will contribute to a better acceptance of these collision warning systems.     

Pro-social behaviour in young passengers: Predictive utility of the social reaction pathway of the prototype willingness model

This study examined the social reaction pathway of the Prototype Willingness Model (PWM) to assess how attitudes, subjective norms, prototype perception (favourability and similarity), and risk perception influenced young passengers’ willingness to speak up to a driver exceeding the posted speed limit by either 5 km/h or 10 km/h. It was hypothesised that participants would be more willing to speak up to drivers’ travelling 10 km/h over the posted speed limit than 5 km/h over the posted speed limit. Further, it was hypothesised that the PWM constructs would significantly predict passenger willingness to speak up to a driver travelling 5 km/h over the posted speed limit and 10 km/h over the posted speed limit. Young Australians aged 17 to 25 years (N = 136, Mage = 19.32, 77.9% female) were recruited to complete a 30-minute online questionnaire. As predicted, passengers were significantly more willing to speak up to drivers travelling at 10 km/h over the posted speed limit than drivers travelling 5 km/h over the posted speed limit. Further, the results from a linear regression revealed that some of the PWM constructs were effective in explaining the variance in willingness to speak-up to drivers travelling either 5 km/h or 10 km/h over the posted speed limit. These findings address a gap in road safety research by shifting focus from the behaviour of drivers to the behaviour of passengers. The focus on the pro-social behaviour of speaking up to drivers performing risk taking behaviours may help to inform future educational campaigns and interventions designed to reduce young peoples’ involvement in road crashes.     

Australian parents’ willingness to use a rideshare vehicle to transport their unaccompanied children

This study aimed to identify the key factors associated with Australian parents' willingness to use a rideshare vehicle to transport their unaccompanied child(ren). Six hundred and thirty-one participants completed an online survey (M = 39.2 years, SD = 10.5, Range = 18.0–70.0 years; Female: 63.4%). Most participants (62.1%) reported that they would 'never' use a rideshare vehicle to transport their unaccompanied child(ren). The results of a logistic regression model showed that participants': previous use of a rideshare vehicle with their child, annual mileage, propensity for technology adoption, aberrant driving behaviours, as well their requirements for vehicle features were significantly associated with their willingness to use a rideshare vehicle to transport their unaccompanied child, χ2(7) = 159.59, p < 0.001. Overall, the findings suggest that Australian parents are mostly ‘unwilling’ to use a rideshare vehicle to transport their unaccompanied children. Understanding the views of parents towards emerging transportation modes for their children is crucial for urban planning, traffic engineering, economic and social mobility and ultimately, on supporting safe modes of transportation.     

Attention all ‘drivers’: You could be to blame,no matter your behaviour or the level of vehicle automation

Vehicle crashes are one of the leading causes of human deaths worldwide, with crashes predominately attributed to failures of human drivers. Whilst increasing vehicle automation is argued to reduce road crashes via decreased driver involvement, automation also raises concerns around driver blame and stakeholder responsibility. This study examines blame for crash scenarios across four different forms of driver distraction behaviours (phone, sleep, work and driving under the influence), and across four levels of vehicle automation (no automation [manual], partially automated, highly automated, fully automated), using a mixed (qualitative and quantitative) methods approach. Participants (n = 205) were randomised into one of the four levels of vehicle automation and were presented with vignette crash scenarios involving a pedestrian being hit by a vehicle. Results revealed that scenarios varying driver behavior at the time of the crash, had no significant impact on participants’ blame attribution or selected course of action. The qualitative analysis revealed that despite semantic distinction between some driver behaviours, drivers were deemed responsible for the crash. As automation increased, attribution of blame towards the driver decreased, but did not disappear. Blame simultaneously increased towards other stakeholders including the manufacturer and the government, as level of automation increased. These findings mirror that of previous research and further highlight the need for legal frameworks for crashes with automated vehicles, irrespective of driver behaviours.     

How does emotional intelligence predict driving behaviors among non-commercial drivers?

Dangerous driving behaviors have been found to be a leading contributor to vehicle crashes and fatalities, with more than 2.7 million people injured and 36,560 people killed in the United States in 2018 (NHTSA, 2020). Drivers’ emotions have been found to be among the leading contributors to dangerous driving behaviors. Emotions can be measured and understood through one’s emotional intelligence (EI). Previous research has confirmed the relationship between EI and dangerous driving behaviors among general driving populations in limited scope. This study analyzed dangerous driving behaviors (e.g., aggressive driving) among non-commercial US drivers. 615 US drivers ages 18 to 65 (M = 31.14, SD = 11.15) with valid US driver’s licenses (non-commercial) participated in this study. Participants completed an online survey through Qualtrics that included the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue-SF) to measure different dimensions of EI and the Dula Dangerous Driving Index (DDDI) and the Driving Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) to measure dangerous driving behaviors. Furthermore, participants reported their demographic information, including age, sex, and location. Correlation analysis revealed that significant associations exist between dangerous driving behaviors and EI. The emotionality component of EI was found to be the strongest predictor of dangerous driving behaviors. The findings concluded that participants with higher EI scores engaged in less dangerous driving behavior, resulting in fewer crashes and fatalities. Thus, promoting and improving EI may be useful in preventing risky driving among non-commercial drivers. Incorporating emotional intelligence education in driver’s education, workplace training, and licensing procedures can be helpful to develop safer drivers. Further research is needed to investigate commercial drivers’ behaviors in relation to EI.     

An exploration of the effectiveness of in-person and online versions of the induced hypocrisy paradigm to reduce smartphone use among young drivers

Worldwide, smartphone use is a major contributing factor to road crash among young drivers. While young drivers may be aware of their heightened crash risk and the legal penalties associated with this behaviour, young drivers continue to engage with their smartphones. The development of novel interventions targeting this behaviour is therefore crucial. The current 2 × 2 between groups experimental study (N = 153, 107F, 43 M, 1 other) investigated the concept of cognitive dissonance in relation to smartphone use among young drivers aged 17–25 years (M_age = 20.66 SD = 2.26). Specifically, it applied the induced hypocrisy paradigm to this context. The induced hypocrisy paradigm elicits cognitive dissonance by asking participants to both advocate for the desired behaviour and identify their engagement in the undesired behaviour. Participants are then motivated to change their behaviour to reduce the feelings of dissonance. The current study investigated the efficacy of both the traditional in-person methodology with a new online methodology. Analyses (e.g., ANCOVA) found that the online conditions were more effective than the in-person groups at eliciting dissonance and that the intervention conditions were more effective in reducing both intention and change in behaviour (from pre- to post-intervention) than the control groups. The intervention groups were also more likely to take/request a flyer about driver distraction. While more research is needed to corroborate these findings, these initial results suggest that cognitive dissonance occurs when young drivers use their smartphones and that the induced hypocrisy paradigm may be an effective intervention. In particular, this study’s findings suggest that an online version of the induced hypocrisy paradigm has merit and may form part of future cost-effective, mass interventions.     

Negative attitudes towards cyclists influence the acceptance of an in-vehicle cyclist detection system

The shift towards automation and safer vehicles will increasingly involve use of technological advancements such as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). Nevertheless, these technologies need to meet users’ perceived needs to be effectively implemented and purchased. Based on an updated version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this study analyses the main determinants of drivers’ intention to use an ADAS aimed at detecting cyclist and preventing potential collision with them through an auto-braking system. Even if the relevance of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and trust on the acceptance of a new system has been already discussed in literature, we considered the role of an external variable such as attitudes towards cyclists in the prediction of an ADAS aimed to improve the safety of cyclists. We administered a questionnaire measuring negative attitudes towards cyclists, trust, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and the behavioural intention to use the system to 480 Italian drivers. Path analysis using Bayesian estimation showed that perceived usefulness, trust in the system, and negative attitudes towards cyclists have a direct effect on the intention to use the ADAS. Considering the role of attitudes towards other road users in the intention to use new ADAS aimed to improve their safety could foster the user’s acceptance, especially for those people who express a negative representation of cyclists and are even more unlikely to accept the technology.