Do they influence me? Impact of an additional pedestrian's presence and behavior on your own crossing decision as pedestrian in interaction with a highly automated vehicle communicating via external human-machine interface and vehicle kinematics

Kurzfassung

The introduction of highly automated vehicles (HAVs) into traffic offers significant benefits, but also presents challenges, especially in interactions with pedestrians, who are among the most vulnerable road users (VRUs). One critical situation is when pedestrians cross in front of HAVs, a topic studied extensively. However, the influence of other pedestrians on one pedestrian's crossing decision still remains underexplored, as research so far has mostly addressed one-to-one interactions in rather low-complex scenarios. Our current study examines how the presence and behavior of another pedestrian impacts an individual's decision to cross in front of a HAV, whether an external human-machine interface (eHMI) signaling the HAV's intentions alters crossing decisions, and whether entrainment effects occur when multiple pedestrians are present. To address these issues, an online-experiment (N = 136) used videos and questionnaires to analyze pedestrian decision-making. Results confirmed that eHMI signals and vehicle kinematics influenced perceived safety and willingness to cross. More importantly, results revealed that the other pedestrian's behavior significantly affected these decisions, highlighting the influence of other road users. This emphasizes the need to consider additional pedestrian interactions beyond mere one-to-one pedestrian-HAV interactions in designing effective eHMI systems to ensure safe and efficient future traffic systems.