Acceptability Of Intelligent Transportation Systems (Its) To Various Groups Of Drivers

Abstract: The introduction of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) in road vehicles is predicted to enhance traffic safety and mobility considerably. Hence, transport policymakers in most countries are increasingly become interested in possibility of extensive implementation of ITS devices in real traffic environment. Successful deployment of these systems on large-scale mainly depends on potential consumers’ willingness to use these technologies. However, the information regarding this willingness is scant. On the other hand, at the current point in development of ITS technologies there has been remarkably little interest shown in segmentation of the market to capture the likely difference in demands and expectations of drivers in various groups of age, gender, country, and so on. Therefore, the acceptability of several ITS applications with high estimated safety potential to different sub-groups of drivers was the main focus of this paper. The study was carried out in two key phases. The first phase encompassed preliminary activities required to be undertaken with the aim of identifying a small number of promising in-vehicle ITS devices that would be assessed for their acceptability. To this end, fist it was necessary to identify drivers’ needs in actual accident context. This was achieved by case-by-case analysis of the potential sources of accidents elicited by interviewing traffic experts based on their in-depth analysis of crash data. Promising ITS functions were conditioned based on their capability to satisfy drivers’ needs. This analysis resulted in the selection of 12 systems for inclusion in the study; Alcohol Detection and Interlocks, Drowsy Driver Warning, Adaptive Front lighting, Night Vision, Intelligent Speed Adaptation, Curve Speed Warning, Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Mitigation, Intersection Assistant, Lane Change Support, Vehicle Monitoring System, and Electronic License Key. These systems, among several ITS technologies, were assessed to confer the greatest safety benefit to the road user community. In the second phase, the focus was to understand the effect of independent variables pertaining to drivers’ background characteristics on their perceived acceptability of various in-vehicle ITS products. This was achieved by executing questionnaire involving a total of 150 car drivers from Iran and Sweden varying in age, gender, and driving characteristics. The results show that on average, the acceptability of ITS applications is rather high. There is evidence to suggest that drivers in diverse groups have different requirements and expectations that have to be met, if ITS technologies are to be acceptable to them. Forward Collision Mitigation system has the highest perceived level of acceptability especially among older drivers. Perceived acceptability of Alcohol Interlocks and Electronic License Key was remarkably low, while these systems are predicted to yield the highest reduction in road trauma and costs. The indications of these findings for the success of ITS have been discussed. A further focus in the second phase was on identification of the significant impediments which would prevent ITS technologies to be accepted by the drivers from their own perspective. Recommendations for enhancing ITS acceptance have been made. The report concludes with suggestions for future work.