Analysis of Driver and Pedestrian Gesture Use in the Boston Area. Automated Vehicles May Need More Than Kinematics in Ambiguous Situations

Abstract

Roadways, despite their formal regulations, are dynamic spaces where humans interact beyond formal rules to resolve conflicts. In ambiguous situations, the right of way is often unclear. Self-driving vehicles in urban traffic introduce challenges to their coexistence with humans, indicating a need for greater social awareness in these vehicles. To investigate social interactions among roadway users, we analyzed a naturalistic driving dataset focusing on instances where drivers yielded to pedestrians, by noting gestures. Video analysis showed that gestures were more common in ambiguous situations than in regulated scenarios. Drivers used gestures to navigate the right of way efficiently, while pedestrians used them to express gratitude. These findings highlight the importance of understanding social expressions in designing socially aware self-driving vehicles.