Determinants of personal concern about autonomous vehicles

Abstract

This paper presents factors that affect and influence individual concern on autonomous vehicles. An ordered probit model with random parameters is applied to estimate concern about characteristics of autonomous vehicle: equipment and safety, legal liability, system and security, reaction to driving environment, and performance in poor weather condition. The analysis results show that factors such as individual age, educational level, household income, interest in owning private autonomous vehicles, number of vehicles, ownership of driver's license, and when people responded the survey have significant effects on individual concern about autonomous vehicles. The conclusion is that if characteristics of autonomous vehicles including equipment and safety, legal liability, system and security, reaction to driving environment, and poor weather performance can be addressed sufficiently, full market penetration is feasible in the future.