Citation

Thompson J, Read GJM, Wijnands JS, Salmon PM. Ergonomics 2020; ePub(ePub): 1-22.

Affiliation

Centre for Human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/00140139.2020.1739326

PMID

32138601

Abstract

How humans will adapt and respond to the introduction of autonomous vehicles (AVs) is uncertain. This study used an agent-based model to explore how AVs, human-operated vehicles, and cyclists might interact based on the introduction of flawlessly performing AVs.

RESULTS showed that, although no conflicts occurred between cyclists and AVs, those among human-operated cars and cyclists increased with the introduction of AVs due to cyclists' adjusted expectations of the behaviour and capability of cars (both human-operated and autonomous). Similarly, when human-operated cars were replaced with AVs over time, cyclist conflict rates did not follow a linear reduction consistent with the replacement rate but decreased more slowly in the early stages of replacement prior to 50% substitution. It is concluded that, although flawlessly performing AVs might reduce total conflicts, the introduction of AVs into a transport system could create new sources of error that offset some of their proposed safety benefits.Practitioner Statement: Ergonomics is an applied science that studies interactions between humans and other elements of a system, including non-human agents. Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) provides an approach for exploring dynamic and emergent interactions between agents. In this article we demonstrate ABM through an analysis of how cyclists and pedestrians might interact with Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) in future road transport systems.

Language: en

Keywords

Cycling; agent-based modelling; autonomous vehicles; health; safety; traffic