Spatial Disparities in Safety Benefits of Adopting Automated Vehicle Technologies Across Rural Communities 

ABSTRACT

Automated vehicle (AV) technologies offer various safety features, such as lane departure warning and automatic emergency braking, promising improvements in rural road safety. However, due to the diverse and heterogeneous nature of rural contexts and built environments, the perceived safety benefits of AVs may vary significantly across different rural communities. This study investigates the potential spatial heterogeneity of safety benefits derived from adopting AV technologies within rural areas. Beginning with a comprehensive literature review, AV safety features and their effectiveness in preventing specific types of crashes are identified, along with other overall benefits. Subsequently, existing models correlating AV adoption behaviors with socioeconomic factors are examined to comprehend the variations in adoption rates across rural areas. Using these models and census-level socioeconomic data, predictions of AV adoption patterns are made, highlighting the expected variability across rural communities. Crash data analysis is then conducted to pinpoint crash types in rural areas that could potentially be mitigated by specific AV safety features. Models are developed to connect these crash types to socioeconomic contexts at the census block or block group level, enabling the prediction of crash frequencies. Finally, the study integrates the overall safety benefits of AV features, adoption variations, and crash frequency variations across rural areas to show how AV safety benefits are spatially distributed within rural communities. This research contributes to a nuanced understanding of the potential impact of AV technology on rural road safety and provides insights for policymakers and stakeholders aiming to address spatial disparities in safety benefits within rural settings.