Editorial

Petr Zámečník

Transactions on Transport Sciences 2019, 10(2)  

Communication between road users and the influence of increased car automation

Christine Chaloupka, Ralf Risser

Transactions on Transport Sciences 2019, 10(2):5-17 | DOI: 10.5507/tots.2019.014  

For a smooth, safe and comfortable cooperation of all actors in traffic good communication is essential. In view of the progressing automation in traffic the impacts on communication have to be considered. This paper puts a special focus on car automation's impact on the communication between road users including interaction between highly automated vehicles and vulnerable road users (VRUs). The main research objective was to develop relevant assumptions concerning changing conditions of communication. To reach this objective, interviews with experts were carried out. The results show that various developments between the two poles - (1) implementation...

Effects of a light-based communication approach as an external HMI for Automated Vehicles - a Wizard-of-Oz Study

Ann-Christin Hensch, Isabel Neumann, Matthias Beggiato, Josephine Halama, Josef F. Krems

Transactions on Transport Sciences 2019, 10(2):18-32 | DOI: 10.5507/tots.2019.012  

Communication between automated vehicles (AVs) and vulnerable road users (VRUs) is highly relevant in coordinating traffic maneuvers and therefore ensuring road safety. Especially in shared spaces such as parking areas, communication is highly important. As automated driving changes the driver's role, communication between different traffic participants will also change. External human-machine interfaces (eHMIs) may enhance safety and effective communication between VRUs and AVs by providing relevant information to other traffic participants if informal communication is insufficient. Hence, a variety of information (e.g., about AVs' driving mode or...

Beliefs and expectations of driving learners about autonomous driving

Ana Martí-Belda, Patricia Bosó, Ignacio Lijarcio

Transactions on Transport Sciences 2019, 10(2):33-41 | DOI: 10.5507/tots.2019.005  

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...

Public opinion on connected and automated vehicles: the Czech context

Vít Gabrhel, Stanislav Ježek, Darina Havlíčková

Transactions on Transport Sciences 2019, 10(2):42-52 | DOI: 10.5507/tots.2019.011  

Despite limited experience with Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs), the general public has been developing beliefs and attitudes about them. These expected benefits, concerns, trust, and other psychological factors play an important role in the way of accepting and adopting this new technology and as such should be available to various stakeholders. This study surveys the Czech public perceptions and attitudes relevant to policy-making in the area of CAVs. Between November 2017 and January 2018, a representative survey was conducted among the general population in the Czech Republic. Overall, 1 065 randomly selected persons aged above 15 were...

The role of gender and age in autonomous mobility: general attitude, awareness and media preference in the context of Czech Republic

Darina Havlíčková, Vít Gabrhel, Eva Adamovská, Petr Zámečník

Transactions on Transport Sciences 2019, 10(2):53-63 | DOI: 10.5507/tots.2019.013  

One of the long-term goals of autonomous mobility is to achieve mobility for non-drivers or those with difficult access to mobility: for seniors, women, children or other groups of people who are not able to drive a car. However, previous surveys revealed that respondents in these subpopulations were rather reluctant to use connected and automated vehicles (CAVs). This discrepancy brings a paradox in the context of autonomous mobility because one of the main benefits of autonomous mobility is its use by groups that currently reject it the most. One of the reasons for this refusal may lie in the amount of available information on CAVs. Thus, this study...