(Eco-)Logical to Compare? - Utilizing Peer Comparison to Encourage Ecological Driving in Manual and Automated Driving

Abstract

The highest CO2 quota per person is personal transport. An ecological driving style (eco-driving) could drastically reduce it’s emissions. Current interventions focus mainly on training, which benefits are mostly short-term, and individual feedback, which needs commitment by setting (individual) goals. We present the concept of displaying not only the eco-friendly behavior of the driver but peers around them. As perceivable competition has been shown to lead to higher task performance and a more eco-friendly behavior, adding a competitive aspect and social enforcement to ecological driving shortcuts the goal-setting. In a virtual reality within-subjects study (N=19), we explored this possibility in manual and automated driving. We found that adding a comparative factor to ecological feedback did not lead to significantly more ecological driving in manual or automated driving.