The acceptability of automatic vehicles in a virtual setting : a sociological approach

Abstract

Automatic vehicles bring new visions to the transport industry by alleviating environmental pollution and fostering a higher level of traffic safety by minimizing human errors. The full automation may become feasible by 2030 when human drivers are not required to perform special driving task. Thus, this study aims to examine the concerns of different stakeholders in receiving the automatic vehicles and assess the types of factors that affect the acceptability of automatic vehicles in a society of 2030.

An in-depth analysis utilizing big data and current literatures related to China, Singapore, United States and the Netherlands was conducted in examining the concerns of the stakeholders in transport policy, i.e. consumers, vehicle manufacturers / service providers and the regulators. A sociological approach of examining different socio-economic factors was adopted and it is found that the concern over the safety of automatic vehicle was shared by the three stakeholders and safety should be regarded as the most influential factor in considering the acceptability of automatic vehicle in a future society. Safety problem not only affects the perceptions of consumers toward automatic vehicles, it also deters the vehicle manufacturers / service providers and regulators from promoting automatic vehicles in the future.

This dissertation concludes by recommending measures to enhance acceptability of automatic vehicle in a future society in which safety would be the intrinsic problem to be solved. The ultimate solution is more related to a cultural change that to embrace automatic vehicles in daily life and to break the cultural barrier; important roles are played by vehicle manufacturers/ service providers and the regulators in changing the perception. Vehicle manufacturers/ service providers should communicate with the public and engage in the promotion of technology while regulators should dedicate the efforts into formulating a fair regulatory mechanism that would ensure automatic vehicles are in the best interest of people.

Last but not least, to achieve an optimum result in promoting AV in the future, policy makers should prioritize the tasks involved in promoting automatic vehicles in a future society. This dissertation suggests that the policy maker should establish the market position of automatic vehicles before approaching vehicle manufacturers/ service providers and the consumers to promote automatic vehicles as a daily transport.