Want a Ride? Attitudes Towards Autonomous Driving and Behavior in Autonomous Vehicles

TL;DR

This study investigates how attitudes towards autonomous driving influence actual behavior in autonomous vehicles, revealing that attitudes do not significantly affect intervention or glance behaviors during autonomous driving.

Contribution

It bridges the gap between attitudes and behaviors in autonomous driving through a field experiment, highlighting the limited influence of attitudes on actual driving behavior.

Findings

Attitudes towards autonomous driving do not affect intervention behavior.

Attitudes do not influence eye glance behavior in autonomous vehicles.

Field tests are crucial for reliable assessment of user behavior and acceptance.

Abstract

Research conducted previously has focused on either attitudes toward or behaviors associated with autonomous driving. In this paper, we bridge these two dimensions by exploring how attitudes towards autonomous driving influence behavior in an autonomous car. We conducted a field experiment with twelve participants engaged in non-driving related tasks. Our findings indicate that attitudes towards autonomous driving do not affect participants' driving interventions in vehicle control and eye glance behavior. Therefore, studies on autonomous driving technology lacking field tests might be unreliable for assessing the potential behaviors, attitudes, and acceptance of autonomous vehicles.