Connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) will greatly impact the lives of individuals with visual impairments, but how they differ in expectations compared to sighted individuals is not clear. The present research reports results based on survey responses from 114 visually impaired participants and 117 panel recruited participants without visual impairments, from Germany. Their attitudes towards autonomous vehicles and their expectations for consequences of wide-spread adoption of CAVs are assessed. Results indicate significantly more positive CAV attitudes in participants with visual impairments compared to those without visual impairments. Mediation analyses indicate that visually impaired individuals' more positive CAV attitudes (compared to sighted individuals') are largely explained by higher hopes for independence, and more optimistic expectations regarding safety and sustainability. Policy makers should ensure accessibility without sacrificing goals for higher safety and lower ecological impact to make CAVs an acceptable inclusive mobility solution.

翻译：网联自动驾驶汽车（CAVs）将显著影响视障人士的生活，但其与明视人群在期望方面的差异尚不明确。本研究基于来自德国的114名视障参与者和117名无视力障碍的招募小组成员的调查反馈，评估了他们对自动驾驶汽车的态度及对CAVs广泛普及后果的预期。结果表明，视障参与者对CAVs的态度显著比无视力障碍参与者更为积极。中介分析显示，视障人士更积极的CAV态度（相较于明视人群）主要源于对独立性更高的期望，以及更乐观的安全性和可持续性预期。政策制定者应确保可及性，同时不牺牲更高的安全性和更低生态影响的目标，以使CAVs成为一种可接受的包容性出行解决方案。