Personality and the autonomous vehicle: Overcoming psychological barriers to the driverless car

Abstract

In many cities traffic jams, accidents and air pollution are part of the daily reality. One of the solutions offered for this is the autonomous or driverless car. However, one of the main obstacles to the introduction of this vehicle is the fear felt by its potential users. Based on studies showing how the personality of the user promotes their online experience, we suggest that if the travel experience in an autonomous car was individualized to fit the personality of the user, people would relate to it with more confidence. We discuss a number of personality theories and assess how they may impact on people's preferences with regard to three important components of the autonomous car: information, entertainment, and work. It is our belief that designing the autonomous car around the different personality types of users and enabling them to choose the components that best fit them, may go a long way to solving the impediment of trust. Therefore, the personalization of the driverless car is expected to enhance the use and engagement of users, in addition to promoting its acceptance by other road-users.