Beliefs and expectations of driving learners about autonomous driving

Abstract

Autonomous driving is a topic that generates great interest and social debate in the field of transport and road safety. Professionals working on vehicle technologies, telecommunications engineers, and vehicle manufacturers say it is an imminent reality and that autonomous vehicles will be available in the near future. But there are still many issues to be resolved and many challenges to overcome. However, the opinion of end users has not been explored very much so far. This study aims to investigate the beliefs and expectations of 138 Spanish driving students about autonomous driving, through an online questionnaire designed ad hoc. Descriptive statistics and frequencies were determined for appropriate demographic variables such as gender, age range, and study level, or employment status. An independent-samples t-test was conducted to compare how the students would feel if they used an autonomous vehicle, preference for using the autonomous vehicle in different situations, advantages and disadvantages of autonomous driving, and some concerns about autonomous driving by gender. Results showed that 77.5% of driving learners thought of an autonomous vehicle as a vehicle with a system that is able travel alone, but that the driver can drive manually at will; 39.9% thought that vehicles that do not need a driver are a very useful system; and 35, 5% believed that such cars would be available between 2017 and 2020, although 79% did not consider buying an autonomous vehicle. In the event of an accident, 50% of the students believed that the driver and the vehicle manufacturer should share the responsibility. Regarding preferences, 73.2% preferred to drive themselves rather than ride in an autonomous vehicle because driving is a pleasure for 51.4%, and they would only use it in case of alcohol, drug, or medicine consumption, or when fatigued, stressed, or in a monotonous driving situation. Public policies and manufacturers should take these results into consideration.