Public acceptance of semi-automated truck platoon driving. A comparison between Germany and California

Platooning technology aims at achieving fuel savings by reducing the distance between two or more electronically coupled vehicles. This technology has recently been tested on public highways with heavy trucks in Germany and California. The objective of this study is to assess the level of acceptance among other road users as well as influencing factors of acceptance. An online questionnaire was administered in Germany and California with a total of N = 536 participants. They received information about truck platoon driving (level-1 and level-2 automation) and answered questions about their attitudes towards the technology as well as their behavioral intention to cooperate with the truck platoons. The overall results showed that 70% of respondents indicated acceptance towards the technology, with acceptance rates being significantly higher in California than in Germany. German respondents were more willing to drive into the gap of platoon vehicles and preferred larger platooning gaps. An adaption of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) showed that the expected usefulness, and the expected ease of sharing the highway, were the strongest predictors for the behavioral intention to cooperate with platoon vehicles. However, the intention to cut in between platoon vehicles could not be predicted by these variables. Cut-in vehicles are a potential safety risk and decrease the efficiency of platoon driving. Therefore, future research should focus on finding behavioral countermeasures.