"It's the relativity, stupid!" Testing Weber's law in utility-based and regre-based models of travel behavior

In this study we extend recent work into the role of Weber’s law in discrete choice theory towards non-regret based models of (travel) choice behavior; and we provide an empirical exploration of the relevance of Weber’s law in the context of utility- and regret-based models of travel behavior

Death by automation: Differences in weighting of fatalities caused by automated and conventional vehicles

Although Automated vehicles (AVs) are expected to have a major and positive effect on road safety, recent accidents caused by AVs tend to generate a powerful negative impact on the public opinion regarding safety aspects of AVs. Triggered by such incidents, many experts and policy makers now believe that paradoxically, safety perceptions may well prohibit or delay the rollout of AVs in society, in the sense that AVs will need to become much safer than conventional vehicles (CVs), before being accepted by the public. In this study, we provide empirical insights to investigate and explain this safety paradox. Using stated choice experiments, we show that there is indeed a difference between the weight that individuals implicitly attach to an AV-fatality and to a CV-fatality. However, the degree of overweighting of AV-fatalities, compared to CV-fatalities, is considerably smaller than what has been suggested in public opinions and policy reports. We also find that the difference in weighting between AV-fatalities and CV-fatalities is (partly) related to a reference level effect: simply because the current number of fatalities caused by AVs is extremely low, each additional fatality carries extra weight. Our findings suggest that indeed, AVs have to become safer—but not orders of magnitude safer—than CVs, before the general public will develop a positive perception of AVs in terms of road safety. Ironically, our findings also suggest that the inevitable occurrence of more AV-related road accidents will in time lead to a diminishing degree of overweighting of safety issues surrounding AVs.Transport and Logistic

"It's the relativity, stupid!" Testing Weber's law in utility-based and regre-based models of travel behavior

In this study we extend recent work into the role of Weber’s law in discrete choice theory towards non-regret based models of (travel) choice behavior; and we provide an empirical exploration of the relevance of Weber’s law in the context of utility- and regret-based models of travel behavior.Transport and Logistic

A day in the life with an automated vehicle: Empirical analysis of data from an interactive stated activity-travel survey

Fully Automated Vehicles (AVs) have been widely expected to revolutionise the future travel experience. Recent studies have shown that their impact may also reach beyond the travel episode, and lead their users to alter other activities performed during the day – their daily lifestyles. This study is among the first to empirically investigate the changes that travellers expect in their daily activities with AVs. To this aim, we created an interactive stated activity-travel survey, in which respondents designed their current daily schedule and, following that, redesigned it while imagining that their most frequently used travel mode is replaced with an AV. We administered the survey to 509 commuters in the Netherlands and analysed (changes in) on-board and stationary activity patterns using the multiple discrete-continuous extreme value (MDCEV) model. Results show a clear increase in the prevalence of various on-board activities in the AV compared to current modes, and even stronger increase for the high income and higher educated groups. Changes in stationary activities are less pronounced: no changes in the aggregate, but some changes within particular socio-demographic groups. Specific changes in stationary activities were associated with specific changes in on-board activities for the higher educated respondents: switching to AVs, they were more likely than others to add on-board work, meals, and leisure to their trips and more likely to add a getting ready activity to their stationary schedules. This study contributes to the growing body of literature that recognises and models on-board activities as an integral part of daily schedules.Transport and Logistic

Three cases of referred sensation in traumatic nerve injury of the hand: implication for understanding central nervous system reorganization

Objective: The aim of this observational study was to explore whether patients with traumatic peripheral nerve injury of the hand perceive referred sensations; sensations that are perceived to emanate from other areas of the body than the part being stimulated. Referred sensations have been reported following amputation, somatosensory deafferentation, local anaesthesia, stroke, brachial plexus avulsion injury, spinal cord injury and complex regional pain syndrome type 1. Design: Ten patients with ulnar or median nerve injuries underwent sensory testing of the face, upper body and legs, involving light touch with a cotton swab. Patients were asked to describe the location of the stimulated site, the sensations emanating from it and any other sensations experienced. Three patients with referred sensations were identified and followed over a period of time. Results: Clear and reproducible referred sensations were found in 3 out of 10 patients examined. Conclusion: Referred sensations were found in traumatic nerve injury, providing evidence of reorganization of the central nervous system after peripheral injury

On the impact of vehicle automation on the value of travel time while performing work and leisure activities in a car: Theoretical insights and results from a stated preference survey

Many experts believe the transport system is about to change dramatically. This change is due to so-called fully-automated vehicles (AVs). However, at present, there are numerous important knowledge gaps that need to be solved for the successful integration of AVs in our transport systems, in particular regarding the impacts of AVs on travel demand. For instance, full automation will enable passengers to perform other, non-driving, related tasks while traveling to their destination. This may substantially change the way in which passengers experience traveling by car, and, in turn, may lead to considerable changes in the so-called Value of Travel Time (VOTT). Many experts anticipate the VOTT to decrease substantially due to AVs. However, the extent to which VOTT will change is currently far from clear. This study aims to develop new insights on the potential impacts of fully automated vehicles on the VOTT for commute trips. To do so, we first look at the existing microeconomics theory on the perceived VOTT and analyze the expected changes accrued from the effect of working and having leisure in an AV. We conclude that the VOTT of a work vehicle should be lower than what is experienced today in a conventional vehicle but the leisure one could stay the same. Then we conduct a stated choice experiment, specifically designed and administered for measuring the VOTT, and analyze these data using discrete choice models (DCMs). In total, we collected data from about 500 respondents. In the experiment, respondents were presented choice tasks consisting of three alternatives: an AV with office interior, an AV with leisure interior, and a conventional car. The same experiment was also given to another sample of respondents but this time describing a chauffeur-driven vehicle. Overall we find the average VOTT for an AV with an office interior (5.50€/h) to be lower than the VOTT for the conventional car (7.47€/h), however the AV with leisure interior is not found to decrease the value of time (8.17€/h) which confirms the theoretical results. The VOTT for the chauffeur experiment is systematically lower than for the AV experiment which we attribute to some distrust that people have regarding the AVs.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Transport and PlanningTransport and Logistic

How Will Automated Vehicles Shape Users’ Daily Activities? Insights from Focus Groups with Commuters in the Netherlands

non-driving activities while travelling, such as working, sleeping, playing games. The impact of this possibility on the satisfaction with travel and on travel demand has been extensively discussed in the literature. However, it has been hardly recognised that the availability of on-board activities influences the (time-geographic) constraints of daily activities and may alter the selection, location, and sequencing of other activities in the day. This hampers correct representation of travel behaviour in activity-based models aiming to predict the effects of AVs on mobility and environment (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions). To help fill this gap, we gathered and analysed qualitative data from focus groups, in which 27 commuters discussed their expectations concerning on-board activities and daily schedules in the AV-era. Among the core insights are the following three. First, it is useful to separate in modelling the satisfaction with travel and the potential for on-board activities during travel: they have different determinants and different consequences for activity schedules and individual travel demand. Second, on-board activities may be classified in 4 quadrants according to their novelty and priority level: this classification is helpful in understanding the potential re-arrangements of daily activities. Third, performing new activities during travel may lead to complex re-arrangements of daily activity patterns; the re-arrangements may ease or also increase time pressure. These, and other reported insights may facilitate more realistic representation of activity-travel behaviour in future travel behaviour models.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Transport and Logistic