Investigating Key Automated Vehicle Human Factors Safety Issues Related to Infrastructure: Summary of Stakeholder Workshop
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Summary
This report summarizes the outcomes of a stakeholder workshop convened by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to identify and prioritize human factors safety issues related to the interaction between automated vehicles (AVs) and roadway infrastructure. The research focuses specifically on SAE Level 2 and Level 3 driving automation, where a human driver remains responsible for monitoring the system and taking control when necessary. The primary motivation for the study was to address the rapid growth of AV technology and the need for infrastructure that supports safe AV operation, particularly regarding driver trust, system comprehension, and mixed-fleet interactions. The project aims to produce data to aid infrastructure design and support the development of operational standards. The methodology involved an in-person workshop held on January 16, 2020, in Washington, D.C., attended by 18 stakeholders representing state departments of transportation, academia, private consultants, and federal agencies. The workshop structure included an opening presentation reviewing literature on physical infrastructure, traffic control devices (TCDs), and transportation systems, followed by small group breakout sessions. Participants generated research questions based on the interactions between AVs, infrastructure, and other road users. These ideas were consolidated into a final list of 13 high-level research topics, which attendees then prioritized through a voting process. Each attendee cast three votes to identify the most critical areas for future study. The workshop results yielded a prioritized list of research topics. The highest-priority issues identified were mixed-fleet acceptance and traffic behavior, pedestrian and bicyclist interactions with AVs, and the modification of work zones for AV operation. Other significant topics included discrepancies between AV information and the external environment, AV understanding of specific infrastructure types, speed differentials between AVs and conventional vehicles, and driver comfort with geometric design changes. Additional concerns addressed AV-specific lanes, communication between AVs and drivers, operation on unregulated roads, jurisdictional responsibility for standardization, negotiation behaviors, and human reactions to TCDs designed for machine vision. Attendees noted that topics receiving fewer votes were either already under investigation or less urgent for near-term study. The significance of this report lies in its provision of a structured, stakeholder-validated roadmap for future research. The prioritized list will guide the design of driving simulator, test track, and on-road experiments intended to explore driver safety as a function of AVs and infrastructure. By identifying specific human factors challenges—such as driver trust in system decisions, comprehension of AV-specific signage, and safety in mixed-fleet environments—the findings support the FHWA’s objectives to improve infrastructure design and develop operational standards. This work facilitates a more systematic approach to integrating AVs into the existing transportation network, ensuring that infrastructure modifications and regulatory frameworks address the practical safety concerns of drivers, passengers, and vulnerable road users.
Key finding
The top three prioritized research topics identified by stakeholders are mixed-fleet acceptance and traffic behavior, pedestrian and bicyclist interactions with automated vehicles, and the modification of work zones for automated vehicle operations.
Methodology
other
Sample size: 18
Provenance
The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_rosap on 2026-05-23 (6 acquisition events logged).
| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | rosap | — | — | 2 | 2026-05-23 |
| archive | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 4 | 2026-06-10 |
| clean | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| chunk | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| embed | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-02 |
| enrich | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 3 | 2026-06-10 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 19 | 2026-06-11 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.
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- Synthesis & Review: research agenda
- Theoretical Contribution: conceptual framework