Vehicle Design and Safety Implications

2019 Forum on the Impact of Vehicle Technologies and Automation on Users – Design and Safety Implications: A Summary Report

Published April 2020

Forum Objectives

Gather representatives/experts from the research
community, government, and industry to discuss issues and identify research needs and critical considerations regarding the design and safety of vehicle technologies and automation
Develop a summary report documenting the outcomes of the panel and group discussions and share it with other stakeholders to improve coordination and encourage collaboration.

Discussions

Day 1: Three expert panels were convened to discuss a variety of topics related to vehicle technology, automation, and their interaction with transportation system users.
- The State of Vehicle Technology and Automation
- Design Recommendations and Considerations
- Implications to Future Safety and Operations
Each panel was followed by an extended question-and-answer period.
Day 2: All forum attendees engaged in a world café exercise, a structured conversational process in which small groups discuss and share knowledge on a topic or question.
- Given current states of vehicle technology, what are the most pressing research needs concerning user interactions with automated systems? How can these research needs be addressed?
- What are the most important measures of safety in the context of vehicle automation, and what are appropriate targets or thresholds? (Consider both pre-deployment and post-deployment.
- How can we improve our understanding of driver interaction with vehicle automation? What methods can we use?
- What are the key focus areas related to safety in the next few years to continue to advance vehicle automation?

Attendees