Ehrhardt, S., Merat, N. orcid.org/0000-0003-4140-9948, Daly, M. et al. (2 more authors) (2024) Comparing implicit communication via longitudinal driving dynamics: A cross-cultural study in Germany and the UK. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 102. pp. 278-293. ISSN 1369-8478
Abstract
To ensure safe and uninterrupted traffic flow, (semi-)automated vehicles must be capable of providing comprehensible and agreeable implicit communication cues to human drivers. This driving simulator study investigated the assessment of implicit communication at a motorway slip road through longitudinal driving dynamics (acceleration, deceleration, and maintaining speed). The second aim of the study was to determine whether expectations of automated vehicles are different from those of human drivers. And thirdly, we investigated whether these findings are country-specific or can be (partially) generalised to other countries. The perception of three means of communication in connection with the presence of a labelling as an automated vehicle (eHMI) was examined in two samples in Germany and England. 27 participants drove from a slip road onto the motorway and interacted with another vehicle. After a stretch on the motorway, they passed a second slip road on which there was a vehicle merging onto the participants lane. This was repeated six times to test all variables. After each situation, the perceived cooperativity and criticality was recorded, as well as the time headway (THW) to the other vehicle. This paper presents the findings from the UK sample and compares them with the German results, which were previously published. Results show, that when the cooperating vehicles are on the slip road, participants from both countries prefer this vehicle to decelerate. However, when participants themselves are on the slip road, expectations for vehicles on the target lane are ambiguous in the UK sample. Except for one aspect (perceived cooperativity of decelerating vehicles on the slip road), the perception of automated vehicles is similar to those of manual drivers. Also, UK participants do not maintain a different safety distance from these vehicles, while this is the case in the German sample. This paper contributes valuable insights into the cross-cultural evaluation of driving dynamics, shedding light on implications for the development and acceptance of automated vehicles.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Driving simulator study, Motorway slip roads, Implicit communication, Intercultural aspects |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > Institute for Transport Studies (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EU - European Union 101006664 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 27 Mar 2025 10:41 |
Last Modified: | 27 Mar 2025 10:41 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.trf.2024.03.008 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:224920 |