Drivers’ willingness to use Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)

Problem: Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system is a part of the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), in brief, a time-gap with the car in front and specific speed is maintained by the system, which is pre-defined by the driver. Despite the fact that the first ACC systems were introduced in the market ago and the expected benefits associated with their usage show high potential, the penetration rate of ACC systems has been quite low until now. Therefore, an opportunity for a thorough study into the users’ willingness to use this technology is provided.
Objectives: This thesis aims to explore the factors that affect the drivers’ willingness to turn ON/OFF the ACC system.
Method: A stated choice experiment is designed and an online questionnaire is used to collect the data, which, main experiment aside, includes the respondents’ driving experience and socio-demographic information, and questions to determine the respondents’ ADAS knowledge and their driving style. The data from the experiment is analysed with an ordinal regression model.
Results: The respondents (N=208) are mostly agreeing in the active use of ACC for the majority of the proposed factors, with the amount of positive answers being double than the amount of negative ones. The findings point out to specific driving conditions influencing to a higher user’ willingness to use ACC; specifically, straight highways or a cloudless situations with high visibility in comparison with the other attribute’ levels. The willingness to use ACC during long trips compared to short ones is also increased. Finally, activate ACC with a high level of fatigue rather than when the driver is rested is more feasible. In addition, regarding the factors underlying the ACC choice decision, the three factors (safety, comfort and fuel efficiency) suggested as possible reasons to turn ON or OFF ACC are seen as positive elements.
Conclusion: Based on the results of this research, the majority of the people is willing to use ACC in most of the suggested driving conditions. Additionally, the respondents are also willing to possess ACC in a future car, which indicates a good disposition towards the system.