Work

Reasons and principles for automated vehicle decisions in ethically ambiguous everyday scenarios: The case of cyclist overtaking

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Automated vehicles (AVs) consistently encounter ethically ambiguous situations in everyday driving, scenarios involving conflicting human interests and no clearly optimal course of action. While existing work often focuses on rare, high-stakes dilemmas (e.g., crash avoidance or trolley problems), routine decisions such as overtaking cyclists or navigating social interactions remain underexplored. This study addresses that gap by applying the tracking condition of Meaningful Human Control (MHC), which holds that AV behaviour should align with human reasons—the values, intentions, or expectations that justify actions. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 AV experts, who explained the reasons behind the considerations AV should make when planning a manoeuvre. Thirteen reason categories emerged, organised across normative, strategic, tactical, and operational levels. Using a case study on cyclist overtaking, we demonstrate how these reasons interact in practice and expose tensions in the decision-making process. Building on this analysis, we derive a reason-prioritisation principle grounded in the cyclist-overtaking scenario for AV behaviour in ethically ambiguous routine situations: prioritising vulnerable road users’ safety above all, treating systemic safety and regulation as important but conditional, and permitting secondary values only when safety is not compromised. This hierarchy supports human-aligned behaviour by allowing pragmatic actions when strict legal compliance would undermine higher-priority values. Our findings offer conceptual principles intended to inform future research and design for AV decision-making in ethically challenging routine situations. • Automated vehicles face ethically ambiguous everyday situations without clear optima. • Interviews with 18 AV experts identified thirteen relevant reasons for manoeuvre planning. • A cyclist-overtaking case revealed tensions between safety, efficiency, and rule compliance. • Case analysis yielded a principle for prioritising reasons in routine driving.

Source: Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives

DOI: 10.1016/j.trip.2025.101787

Authors: Lucas Elbert Suryana, Simeon Calvert, Arkady Zgonnikov, Bart van Arem

Institution: Delft University of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Autonomous Vehicle Technology and Safety

Subfield: Automotive Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,400

Funder: Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan