University of California Institute of Transportation Studies

The objective of this project is to understand public perception of Automated Driving Systems (ADS) and to develop acceptance models that can help understand users’ intentions to use fully ADS, including both personally owned fully ADS and shared-use fully ADS. This project consisted of three phases, including (1) indepth interviews with end-users of partially ADS, (2) interviews with experts in the transportation domain regarding policy gaps for deployment of ADS, and (3) focus group and online surveys to understand public perception and acceptance model of fully ADS. Findings from this study show that safety, vehicle control and compatibility, and trust are the three most critical factors that have influence on users’ acceptance of the fully automated driving systems.