As automated vehicles (AVs) become increasingly popular, the question arises as to how cyclists will interact with such vehicles. This study investigated (1) whether cyclists spontaneously notice if a vehicle is driverless, (2) how well they perform a driver-detection task when explicitly instructed, and (3) how they carry out these tasks. Using a Wizard-of-Oz method, 37 participants cycled a designated route and encountered an AV multiple times in two experimental sessions. In Session 1, participants cycled the route uninstructed, while in Session 2, they were instructed to verbally report whether they detected the presence or absence of a driver. Additionally, we recorded participants' gaze behaviour with eye-tracking and their responses in post-session interviews. The interviews revealed that 30% of the cyclists spontaneously mentioned the absence of a driver (Session 1), and when instructed (Session 2), they detected the absence and presence of the driver with 93% accuracy. The eye-tracking data showed that cyclists looked more frequently and for longer at the vehicle in Session 2 compared to Session 1. Additionally, participants exhibited intermittent sampling of the vehicle, and they looked at the area in front of the vehicle when it was far away and towards the windshield region when it was closer. The post-session interviews also indicated that participants were curious, but felt safe, and reported a need to receive information about the AV's driving state. In conclusion, cyclists can detect the absence of a driver in the AV, and this detection may influence their perception of safety. Further research is needed to explore these findings in real-world traffic conditions.

翻译：随着自动驾驶车辆日益普及，骑行者将如何与这类车辆互动成为一个重要问题。本研究探讨了：(1) 骑行者是否会自发注意到车辆是否无人驾驶；(2) 当被明确指示时，他们在驾驶员检测任务中的表现如何；(3) 他们如何执行这些任务。采用“魔法师”实验方法，37名参与者在两次实验环节中沿指定路线骑行，并多次遇到一辆自动驾驶车辆。在第一环节中，参与者在无指示情况下骑行；在第二环节中，他们被要求口头报告是否检测到驾驶员的存在或缺失。此外，我们通过眼动仪记录了参与者的注视行为，并在环节结束后进行了访谈。访谈结果显示，30%的骑行者自发提及了驾驶员的缺失（第一环节）；而在被指示时（第二环节），他们对驾驶员存在与否的检测准确率达到93%。眼动数据显示，与第一环节相比，第二环节中骑行者对车辆的注视频率更高、持续时间更长。此外，参与者表现出对车辆的间歇性采样行为：当车辆距离较远时，他们注视车辆前方区域；当车辆靠近时，则转向挡风玻璃区域。事后访谈还表明，参与者感到好奇但认为安全，并报告需要获取自动驾驶车辆的行驶状态信息。总之，骑行者能够检测到自动驾驶车辆中驾驶员的缺失，这种检测可能会影响他们对安全性的感知。未来需要在真实交通条件下进一步验证这些发现。