People with more misconceptions about automated vehicles might be more positive toward them

Automated vehicle (AV) technology is likely to influence transportation, mobility, and society dramatically. The year 2020 was a horizon year for the AV, as manufacturers expected commercial AVs to be available to the general market. However, the authors experienced one cycle of hyperbole for these “self-driving” cars, which are still unavailable to consumers. Meanwhile, many persistent beliefs about this technology are factual or arguable misconceptions. However, the public attitude literature rarely examines public misconceptions of AVs. Thus, the authors explored the prevalence of three misconceptions: “AVs are already available in the market,” “AVs do not need to be driven manually at all,” and “Mature business models for AVs have been established.” The authors investigated these misconceptions’ correlations with several cognitive (i.e., benefit and risk perceptions), affective (i.e., positive and negative affect), and behavioral components (i.e., behavioral intention and willingness to pay) of attitudes and trust in AVs. The online survey in China (N = 1,026) indicated that more than 70% of participants hold one or more of the three misconceptions, with one-third believing that AVs are already available in the market. Furthermore, participants believing one or more of the three misconceptions were more positive regarding specific attitudinal factors (e.g., those who believed that AVs are already available reported greater behavioral intention to use and willingness to pay for AVs than those who rejected this misbelief). This finding indicates that people who are more wrong about AVs might be more positive toward AVs. Effective and accurate public communication is necessary to dispel public misconceptions about AVs and build rational expectations.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2022.04.010
• Record URL:
  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136984782200078X
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/13698478
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Liu, Peng
  • Du, Manqing
  • Xu, Zhigang
  • Chu, Yueying
• Publication Date: 2022-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: References;
• Pagination: pp 264-278
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour
  • Volume: 87
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 1369-8478
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/13698478

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Acceptance; Attitudes; Autonomous vehicles; Behavior; Public opinion
• Geographic Terms: China
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01846205
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 24 2022 10:05AM