Investigation of factors affecting the selection of automation levels in vehicles

Abstract

Automated Vehicles (AVs) are an emerging technology that could be the next big evolution in transportation. As of now, many major companies are developing and testing their own model vehicles and plan to eventually bring this technology to market. Keeping track of the public's perception of AVs is very important because this technical advance has the ability to provide a wide range of benefits to passengers/drivers and thus, influence their daily routines. Therefore, a series of surveys all over the world conducted in recent years have sought to find out not only whether the technology is generally accepted, but also when, how, and why respondents might use it. However, almost none of these studies have been conducted in Turkey. Most of the past studies have focused on the public's adoption attitudes, but have neglected how attitudes change at different levels of automated vehicles, ranging from 1 to 5 according to the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). To fill this gap, this study examines the factors that influence people's willingness to choose different levels of automated vehicles in Istanbul, Turkey. For the purpose of the study, a survey throughout online platforms was conducted in Istanbul, Turkey and more than 550 responses were received. Through background research, it was identified that the key factors that could influence the desirability of these vehicles are: socio-economic characteristics, travel-based characteristics, and perception of AVs. In this context, in addition to demographic information, data were collected on having a driver's license, having had a traffic accident in the past, daily travel time, perception of safety, familiarity with AV technology, and perception of the impact of AVs on future life, as well as perception of the advantages and disadvantages of AVs. To help determine whether there was a significant difference in the attractiveness of autonomous technology between the determined groups, a Multinomial Logit Model (MNL) was utilized and Level 1 AV is used as the reference. Therefore, the results of the discrete choice model are expressed in comparison with AV Level 1. The outcomes of this discrete choice model show that gender (being male), having a driver's license, familiarity with AV technology, perception of the impact of AVs on future life, and perception of the safety of AVs significantly affect the likelihood of choosing a higher level of automated vehicles over choosing a car with Level 1 autonomy. However, these effects are not significant for all AV levels. Important results from the Multinomial Logit Model are summarized as follows: The important findings include that being male negatively affects the probability of adopting AV Level 2, Level 3 and Level 5 over AV Level 1. Having a driver's license increases the likelihood of choosing AV Level 2, Level 4 and Level 5 over to Level 1. People who think AV technology will positively impact our lives are more likely to choose higher-level AVs over AV Level 1. Familiarity with AV technology will negatively affect the likelihood of choosing Level 2 and Level 3 AV over Level 1 AV. People who perceive higher-level AVs as safe will be more likely to choose higher-level AVs over AV Level 1. The results of the model estimation can be utilized to guide modeling choices and policy discussions regarding the AV technology's upcoming commercial penetration as well as be used into marketing and informational initiatives.