Journal article
Deciding when to cross in front of an autonomous vehicle: How child and adult pedestrians respond to eHMI timing and vehicle kinematics
Accident analysis and prevention, Vol.202, 107567
04/25/2024
DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2024.107567
PMID: 38669901
Abstract
How autonomous vehicles (AVs) communicate their intentions to vulnerable road users (e.g., pedestrians) is a concern given the rapid growth and adoption of this technology. At present, little is known about how children respond to external Human Machine Interface (eHMI) signals from AVs. The current study examined how adults and children respond to the combination of explicit (eHMI signals) and implicit information (vehicle deceleration) to guide their road-crossing decisions. Children (8- to 12-year-olds) and adults made decisions about when to cross in front of a driverless car in an immersive virtual environment. The car sometimes stopped, either abruptly or gradually (manipulated within subjects), to allow participants to cross. When yielding, the car communicated its intent via a dome light that changed from red to green and varied in its timing onset (manipulated between subjects): early eHMI onset, late eHMI onset, or control (no eHMI). As expected, we found that both children and adults waited longer to enter the roadway when vehicles decelerated abruptly than gradually. However, adults responded to the early eHMI signal by crossing sooner when the cars decelerated either gradually or abruptly compared to the control condition. Children were heavily influenced by the late eHMI signal, crossing later when the eHMI signal appeared late and the vehicle decelerated either gradually or abruptly compared to the control condition. Unlike adults, children in the control condition behaved similarly to children in the early eHMI condition by crossing before the yielding vehicle came to a stop. Together, these findings suggest that early eHMI onset may lead to riskier behavior (initiating crossing well before a gradually decelerating vehicle comes to a stop), whereas late eHMI onset may lead to safer behavior (waiting for the eHMI signal to appear before initiating crossing). Without an eHMI signal, children show a concerning overreliance on gradual vehicle deceleration to judge yielding intent.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Deciding when to cross in front of an autonomous vehicle: How child and adult pedestrians respond to eHMI timing and vehicle kinematics
- Creators
- Lakshmi Devi Subramanian - Kean UniversityElizabeth E O'Neal - Community and Behavioral Health, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States. Electronic address: elizabeth-oneal@uiowa.eduNam-Yoon Kim - Psychological and Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United StatesMegan Noonan - Psychological and Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United StatesJodie M Plumert - University of IowaJoseph K Kearney - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Accident analysis and prevention, Vol.202, 107567
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.aap.2024.107567
- PMID
- 38669901
- NLM abbreviation
- Accid Anal Prev
- eISSN
- 1879-2057
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 04/25/2024
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences; Driving Safety Research Institute; Injury Prevention Research Center; Computer Science; Community and Behavioral Health
- Record Identifier
- 9984618195002771
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