Consumer reactions to automated vehicle control technologies were studied. The motivating hypothesis was that current users of cruise control value the relaxation benefits they gain from its use and would therefore be early adopters of more automated controls. Four focus groups were conducted, two with avid users of cruise control and two with infrequent users. The hypothesis was not borne out: avid users valued cruise control as a driving aid more than as a means to relax and thus had little interest in more advanced automated controls. Less frequent users, in contrast, were more attracted to the automated controls because of the increased safety benefits they could provide in emergencies, although the users expressed concern about reliance on those automations in inappropriate circumstances. It is hypothesised that (a) avid cruise control users are not a special early market; (b) safety is the primary feature, both negatively and positively, in defining the early market; and (c) convenience is not likely to be a primary feature attracting early adopters of automated driving controls.
Abstract