Living and Driving Safety

Project Overview

Consumer Surveys and Research

I delivered 12% of all interviews/surveys for this client project.

Goals:

  • Gauge autonomous vehicle (AV) adoption

  • Label driving safety concerns with age groups

  • Establish willingness to pay for new or adaptive products in the North American market

The results showed that fully/partially autonomous vehicles are not the most feasible or appealing to the 65+ demographic, but retrofitting for their current vehicles is potentially the best option.

Outcomes:

  • Autonomous Vehicle Adoption Strategy

  • User Journey Maps

  • User Research Report

Roles

User Researcher and Project Manager

Responsibilities

Survey creation/delivery, Project timeline

Time

2 Months

Industry

Automotive and Engineering

Partners

Aperio Insights, Toyota

The Process

  • Survey Development

    We created research materials from previous artifacts and existing content

  • Canvassing

    We interviewed community members on Autonomous Vehicle content/sentiments

  • Synthesis

    Developed a thematic analysis on sentiments, experiences, and more

  • Report Generation

    Combining the concepts, quotes, and more we developed a report and next steps

Autonomy Levels & Implications

There are five levels of vehicle automation recognized by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which in April of 2025, recently unveiled a 3 part framework that will “promote American automotive ingenuity & strengthen domestic manufacturing while upholding safety”

NHTSA’s AV Framework has three principles:  

  • Prioritize the safety of ongoing AV operations on public roads 

  • Unleash innovation by removing unnecessary regulatory barriers 

  • Enable commercial deployment of AVs to enhance safety and mobility for the American public. 

  • Lack of autonomy, (most vehicles) prev. to 2008 US domestic models

    (Level 0) - No Automation

  • "commonplace" advancements (i.e. stability control/blind spot detection) with person driving

    (Level 1 Autonomy) - Driver Assistance

  • Driver to be engaged for all monitoring tasks with some assistance like adaptive acceleration or lane asst.

    (Level 2) - Partial Automation

  • Vehicle acceleration, steering, and road monitoring yet requires human assistance in most driving scenarios

    (Level 3) - Conditional Automation

  • Vehicle can be fully independent for driving under commonplace driving conditions, but not all situations/weather

    (Level 4) - High Automation

  • No need for human driving interference for any matters, under any weather/situation

    (Level 5) - Full Automation

Survey Development

The design team used the following three topics to create a survey guide and basis for this project. The final document included:

  • Public trust gauge

  • Technology approach tailoring

  • Different demographic and regional considerations

  • Capabilities of proprietary technologies and at-scale manufacturing

    • Market segmentation and innovation documentation

    • Previous technology adoption history

  • What did the organization want at the end of this project?

    • A Gauge on Public Trust with AVs

    • Tech Tailoring Strategy

    • Demographic Sentiments on AVs

  • Academia, industry publications, govt. information and more

Canvassing

I interviewed 3 of the 30 people who were 65+ and used Remesh to understand how seemingly "carefree" driving habits would be augmented with autonomous driving technologies.

  • “I think if I had this as an option earlier in life I would have taken it... anything to stay active with my family/grandkids.” - Anonymous Participant

  • “I don’t like the cameras (concept)... I feel like I’m being watched... if ‘big brother’ was there with me.” -Anonymous Participant

Synthesis

Early action is best, but most consumers did not recognize the need to take action until their health or driving abilities were or would be at risk.

Understanding what technology could remove inaction might increase their adoption with Autonomous Vehicle Capacity in the following ways:

  • Additional Sensors

  • Maintenance and Safety

Woman driving with both hands on wheel attently focused on the road

Participants were curious about a solution that would nudge them toward better habits, including driving.

Report Generation

Habituation of advanced technologies can make all the difference in driving futures.

The conceptual undertaking behind the concepts presented in the report and how to best roll out technologies under the new and next frameworks.

Additional dealership resources and support can push drivers to better habits.

Having multiple vertical organizational initiatives to promote AV infrastructure can support the implementation and adoption of AV tech advancements via existing and widespread dealership tools.

  • Habit Promotion

    • Helpful nudges and stimuli that assist driver capacities, and good driving habits when on the road.

    Vehicle Add-ons

    • Retrofitted technologies, safety upgrades, and routine software upgrades to enhance driver safety.

  • A 5 step process to promote independence, prevent transit problems, and accounting for the needs and experiences of elder drivers.

  • "Consumer education programs are encouraged to cover topics such as (Automated Driving Systems) ADSs’ functional intent, operational parameters, system capabilities and limitations..." - U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)

    The US DOT may not be equipped to develop the hands on implementation for elder drivers. Thus, manufacturers will find a more open-minded generation of drivers which have relatively positive perceptions to level 3 autonomous driving technologies.

  • Dream it.

  • Build it.

  • Grow it.

  • Sell it.