What’s a Connected Vehicle Worth to You?

Connected vehicles (CVs) work by communicating with each other and the roadway infrastructure via dedicated shortrange communication. They are expected to eventually reduce non-impaired driver crashes by 80 percent, which will also significantly reduce traffic congestion. Researchers at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, spent 4 years researching driver’s acceptance of and willingness to pay for CVs through a simulation of purchasing decisions.

The study, Measuring User Acceptance of and Willingness-To-Pay for CVI Technology, was funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation through the Connected Vehicle/Infrastructure University Transportation Center (UTC) at Virginia Tech. It was completed in the fall of 2016. The study gave drivers brief descriptions and pictures of five attributes—Collision Package, Driver Assistance Package, Enhanced Safety Package, Roadway Information Package, and Travel Assistance Package—that included nine safety features and two mobility factors.