Ethical Decision-Making in Older Drivers During Critical Driving Situations: An Online Experiment

• DOI: 10.26599/jicv.2023.9210031
• Publication Date: 2024-04-22T17:48:25Z
• Authors: Amandeep Singh; Sarah Yahoodik; Yovela Murzello; Samuel Petkac; Yusuke Yamani; Siby Samuel
• Keywords: Ethical decision; utilitarianism; Transportation Engineering; Younger participants; Bayesian credible intervals; moral dilemmas; Online experiment; Response time; simulated driving; Visualization; Motor vehicles. Aeronautics. Astronautics; Decision algorithm; Driver behavior; Intelligent vehicles; Moral decision-making; 05 social sciences; Moral dilemmas; Catch trials; TL1-4050; Utilitarianism; Younger counterparts; Response choices; Credible interval; driver behavior; Age differences; Simulated driving; ethical decision making; Dual-process theory; Deliberative process; Avatars; Artificial Intelligence and Robotics; Ethical decision-making; Older participants; Effect of placement; age-differences; Lane change; 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences; Young individuals; bayesian hierarchical model; Automated vehicles; Bayesian hierarchical model; Pedestrians; Ethics; Geropsychology; Vehicles; Morality; Markov chain monte carlo; Roads; Trolley problem; Young drivers; Older drivers; Bayesian model; Trajectories of change; Road safety; Perceptual speed; Executive control functions; Decision making

The present study examined the impact of aging on ethical decision-making in simulated critical driving scenarios. 204 participants from North America, grouped into two age groups (18–30 years and 65 years and above), were asked to decide whether their simulated automated vehicle should stay in or change from the current lane in scenarios mimicking the Trolley Problem. Each participant viewed a video clip rendered by the driving simulator at Old Dominion University and pressed the space-bar if they decided to intervene in the control of the simulated automated vehicle in an online experiment. Bayesian hierarchical models were used to analyze participants’ responses, response time, and acceptability of utilitarian ethical decision-making. The results showed significant pedestrian placement, age, and time-to-collision (TTC) effects on participants’ ethical decisions. When pedestrians were in the right lane, participants were more likely to switch lanes, indicating a utilitarian approach prioritizing pedestrian safety. Younger participants were more likely to switch lanes in general compared to older participants. The results imply that older drivers can maintain their ability to respond to ethically fraught scenarios with their tendency to switch lanes more frequently than younger counterparts, even when the tasks interacting with an automated driving system. The current findings may inform the development of decision algorithms for intelligent and connected vehicles by considering potential ethical dilemmas faced by human drivers across different age groups.