How do familiarity and fatal accidents affect acceptance of self-driving vehicles?

Expected benefits of disruptive technologies such as self-driving vehicles may only materialize if they are publicly accepted. Acceptance increases when implementation is experienced as initial concerns become unfounded and individuals become familiar with the new technology. Fatal accidents, however, negatively affect acceptance. This paper examines citizens' acceptance of self-driving vehicles by contrasting pre- and post-implementation of a self-driving shuttle in Switzerland and before and after the first fatal accident involving a self-driving vehicle in Arizona (USA) in 2018 gaining high media attention. To gauge acceptance, a panel survey using a random sample of 1408 Swiss residents was used. The results indicate that news about the fatal accident abroad exerts a stronger effect on acceptance than experiencing a self-driving bus trial. Latent scepticism causes acceptance to decrease in the event of an accident but only lasts short term. However, acceptance levels are stable and at high levels, which also explains the comparably low familiarity effects. As public acceptance is necessary for technology transitions, this article provides policymakers practical insights on how citizens form preferences towards traffic automation and related policy regulations. More specifically, results show how attitudes change over time while residents experience a trial and the first fatal accident with the technology at hand.ISSN:1369-847