Ogungbire Abimbola, Pulugurtha Srinivas S
Infrastructure & Environmental Systems (INES) Program, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001, USA.
Civil & Environmental Engineering Department, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001, USA.
Heliyon. 2023 Sep 6;9(9):e19913. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19913. eCollection 2023 Sep.
The perception of non-motorists toward autonomous vehicles (AVs) could change or remain the same after hearing about a fatal AV crash. This study aims to discern the differences between non-motorists whose opinions were influenced and those whose views remained unchanged after hearing about the fatal AV crash. Additionally, this study investigates how the operational competence of AV manufacturers affect non-motorist's safety perception. A fixed parameter ordered logit model was explored to explain non-motorists' safety perception for respondents who changed their opinion after a crash occurrence and those who did not. A random parameter ordered logit model was then explored to address the difference in residual variance. The finding from the random parameter ordered logit model indicates that two factors (i.e., future impact of AVs on traffic injuries and willingness to adopt Pittsburgh's streets as a proving ground) were significant for the respondents with negative change in opinion after the crash. The result also suggests that negative information such as the crash in Arizona may influence non-motorists' safety perception of AVs, but this effect can be mitigated by providing positive information about the AVs. The results also demonstrate that non-motorists who perceive the operational competence of the AV manufacturers to be high have higher safety perception of the AVs, while those who perceive the operational competence of the AV manufacturers to be low have lower safety perception of the AVs. This study offers recommendations for policies and interventions to enhance non-motorists' safety based on the examination of factors associated with safety perception among respondents who changed their opinion following a crash and those who maintained their initial stance.
在听说自动驾驶汽车（AV）发生致命撞车事故后，非机动车使用者对自动驾驶汽车的看法可能会改变，也可能保持不变。本研究旨在辨别在听说致命的自动驾驶汽车撞车事故后，意见受到影响的非机动车使用者与意见保持不变的使用者之间的差异。此外，本研究还调查了自动驾驶汽车制造商的运营能力如何影响非机动车使用者的安全认知。研究探索了固定参数有序logit模型，以解释撞车事故发生后意见发生变化和未发生变化的受访者对自动驾驶汽车的安全认知。随后，又探索了随机参数有序logit模型，以解决残差方差的差异。随机参数有序logit模型的研究结果表明，对于撞车事故后意见发生负面变化的受访者，有两个因素（即自动驾驶汽车对交通伤害的未来影响以及将匹兹堡街道作为试验场的意愿）具有显著性。结果还表明，亚利桑那州撞车事故等负面信息可能会影响非机动车使用者对自动驾驶汽车的安全认知，但通过提供有关自动驾驶汽车的正面信息可以减轻这种影响。结果还表明，认为自动驾驶汽车制造商运营能力高的非机动车使用者对自动驾驶汽车的安全认知较高，而认为自动驾驶汽车制造商运营能力低的使用者对自动驾驶汽车的安全认知较低。本研究基于对撞车事故后意见发生变化和保持初始立场的受访者中与安全认知相关因素的考察，为提高非机动车使用者安全的政策和干预措施提供了建议。
