While driving behavior is generally governed by the nature and the driving objectives of the driver, there are many situations (typically in crowded traffic conditions) where tacit communication between vehicle drivers and pedestrians govern driving behavior, significantly influencing transportation safety. The study aimed to formalize the tacit communication between vehicle drivers and pedestrians, in order to inform an investigation on effective communication mechanisms between autonomous vehicle and humans. Current autonomous vehicles engage in decision making primarily controlled by on-board or external sensory information, and do not explicitly consider communication with pedestrians. The study was a within subject 2x2x2 factorial experimental design. The three independent variables were driving context (normal driving vs. autonomous vehicle placard), driving route (1 vs. 2), and narration (yes vs. no). The primary outcome variable was driver-yield behavior. Each of the ten drivers completed the factorial design, requiring eight total drives. Data were collected using a data acquisition system (DAS) designed and installed on the experimental vehicle by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. The DAS collected video, audio, and kinematic data. Videos were coded using a proprietary software program, Hawkeye, based on an a priori data directory. Recommendations for future autonomous vehicle research and programming are provided. / Ph. D. / To improve traffic safety and efficiency, the current study examined factors of pedestrian-vehicle interactions. Driving is a dangerous endeavor for all parties, however, pedestrians are an especially vulnerable group. Many different solutions have been suggested including; education and training of road users, high visibility law enforcement, infrastructure changes, and vehicle solutions. Of all proposed, the vehicle solution, autonomous vehicles, shows great promise in improving traffic safety. Autonomous vehicles provide an opportunity for a high degree of safety, yet, inefficiencies exist. For instance, a vehicle might stop at all crosswalks regardless of pedestrian proximity. To this end, the current study was a scientific exploration of the factors relating to pedestrian-vehicle interactions. The exploratory nature of this work provided an opportunity to provide recommendations for programming of autonomous vehicles to balance safety and efficiency.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/96198 |
| Date | 29 June 2018 |
| Creators | Roediger, Micah David |
| Contributors | Psychology, Geller, E. Scott, Hickman, Jeffrey S., Diana, Rachel A., Calderwood, Charles |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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