Proceedings of the
The 33rd European Safety and Reliability Conference (ESREL 2023)
3 – 8 September 2023, Southampton, UK
Driver Acceptance of Truck Platooning: State-of-the-Art and Insights from a Field Trial on Rural Roads
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Digital Systems, Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), Norway.
2Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, NTNU, Norway.
3Department of Psychology, NTNU, Norway.
4Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Norway.
ABSTRACT
Truck platooning denotes virtually linking two or more trucks by use of communication and sensor technologies. With increasing automation, platoon driver roles and tasks are likely to change. Some drivers may be encouraged by prospects of teamwork and more flexible work schedules. Others may be concerned about safety and monotony, and fear loss of independence. Acceptance from drivers will depend on the perceived benefits and constraints of truck platooning in the context of their work. However, it is difficult to assess impacts of new technology without first-hand experience. The current study investigated acceptance of platooning in a field trial on rural roads. Three professional drivers operated a three-truck platoon along a 380 km route in Northern Norway, subject to large variations in road conditions. The trucks had automated longitudinal control. Although increasing usefulness and satisfaction were reported during the trial, participants appeared undecided or slightly negative towards truck platooning in interviews and in post hoc ratings. The participants stated that platooning may be advantageous on highways while requiring substantial effort from drivers to work on rural roads.
Keywords: Automated vehicles, Real-world study, Technology acceptance model, Road geometry, Two-lane roads.
