PACCAR ADAS Study

Methodology

Approach

This study took a mixed-methods approach to capturing data. The questionnaire included open-ended questions and closed-ended survey scales to capture both qualitative and quantitative data in the same survey tool.

Recruitment

Participants were selected by the Verification team lead based on test drive schedules and who would be returning within the appropriate timeline. One scheduling consideration was wanting the interviews/questionnaire to be conducted the same day people finished their drives so the information was fresh on their minds.

Prior to the test drive, participants had varying levels of familiarity with safety features.

• 4 were “engineer-drivers,” meaning they are employed by PACCAR as engineers and have some familiarity with the technical functions of the safety system features.

• 2 were “customer-drivers,” meaning they are contracted by PACCAR as drivers and do not have engineering backgrounds or familiarity with the technical functions of the features.

Participant Education

All drivers received subject matter education by PACCAR safety system engineers prior to heading out on their test drives. This included information about which functions to use and how they behave, how they show up on the digital display, etc. (This education happened independently and was not part of my responsibilities.)

Visual Aids

Because participants had varying levels of safety system knowledge (and to facilitate recall), at the beginning of each interview session, I provided them with printed sheets of relevant information they could reference during the interview process, including:

• a list of definitions of each safety feature along with a visual representation of how they show up on the digital display

• a list of safety system fault states along with a visual representation of how they show up on the digital display

• a list of relevant survey scales

Questionnaire Structure

Introduction —> explaining study objectives, capturing consent

Demographic Questions —> capturing participant age, gender, years of heavy-duty trucking experience

Warm-Up Questions —> questions about a typical day during a test drive, their familiarity with PACCAR’s safety system

Core Questions —> a mixture of open-ended questions and rating prompts*

• Assessment of Individual Features:

  • scale: satisfaction with different aspects of the feature

  • open-ended questions about experience with the feature

  • scale: likelihood of wanting the feature installed on their vehicle

  • scale: performance rating of the feature

• Assessment of Overall System:

  • open-ended questions about what works and what doesn’t

  • scale: performance rating of the overall system

Closing —> an opportunity for the participant to add anything that wasn’t explicitly asked about during the session

*A 5-point likert scale was used to capture satisfaction and likelihood ratings. “Not applicable” was also an option if the participants didn’t experience something during their drive. For the performance ratings, a 1-10 satisfaction rating scale was used.