Stopping Aside

Abstract

Contributing to interactionist studies of walking and to research on human-machine interaction, this article draws on video recordings of a self-driving shuttle being tested as a means of public transportation. The analytical focus is on yielding as achieved through the practice of pedestrians’ stepping aside, stopping, and letting the shuttle pass. The paper examines and describes how solitary pedestrians “stop aside” as well as how mobile formations of multiple persons take part in the practice. Finally, it discusses stopping aside as a social action that is often followed by displays of gratitude and reflects on this facet with regard to automated vehicles. In the context of this special issue, the central claim advanced is that agency reflexively emerges from the organized and sequential character of the situation and is grounded in assemblages of human and technological aspects, rather than originating in clearly distinguishable singular actors or agents.