# Teenagers and Automated Vehicles: Are They Ready to Use Them?
## 5 Conclusions, Limitations, and Future Research  
This study focused on teenagers' current mobility preferences and their willingness to use AVs, while it also sheds light on their worries and the information they wish to know before using these vehicles and their level of agreement on the sharing of personal data. Given that the existing research on teenagers' perceptions and views about AVs is scarce [14], the present paper provides insights to cover this research gap using empirical evidence based on FGs and a post-pre survey. The focus groups proved to be an effective qualitative method, serving as a mechanism for helping teenagers to generate and share their ideas and provide deeper insights instead of being limited to single-word or short-phrase multiple choice responses. As not all the participants had had a real-life experience with an AV and because this topic might have been intangible for them, the FGs succeeded in engaging teenagers in a meaningful dialogue with peers, which resulted in a rich data collection. The results indicate the generally positive views of teenagers regarding AVs, although there are some acceptance barriers. The participants acknowledged that AV deployment could bring several benefits to society, such as reduced car accidents, increased accessibility for certain user groups, lower transport emissions, and the possibility to perform other activities while on board. At the same time, they also expressed safety concerns about AV interactions with pedestrians and other road users. Such safety concerns could explain the stated reluctance of teenagers to be among the first users, contrasting with the advantage of AVs, which is that they can be used by minors without a driving licence. In addition, the teenagers emphasised that these vehicles could reduce manual driving, depriving them of the pleasure of driving. Particular concerns were raised regarding the overall behaviour of the vehicle in emergency situations, a lack of trust in the software, data privacy, and mistrust of the safety test transparency. Concerning the sharing of personal data, the participants seemed to be familiar with the subject as they use digital technologies in their daily life, but in some cases, they do not feel comfortable in allowing access to their personal information. For this reason, AV-based services will need to pay more attention to properly clarifying what type of data will be needed from users and how they will be treated. Moreover, the teenagers anticipated that AVs would come with both advantages and disadvantages for the environment. They noted that pollutant emissions could be minimised, but energy consumption and EV batteries production might increase. The transport infrastructure would also be adapted in a prejudicial manner for the environment. However, this does not apply exclusively to AVs but is an issue of electromobility in general. For this reason, we plan to perform a dedicated study on people's views on EVs. Some of the above-mentioned disadvantages could be alleviated by renewable energy strategies, battery recycling, and fewer intervening infrastructure adjustments. These concerns can provide policy makers and AV developers with indications about areas that need to be further improved and adequately explained in order to build trust and ensure a smooth transition and deployment of AVs. This smooth transition can consequently eliminate the risk of technology aversion and accelerate the market deployment AVs. Additionally, the mood board activity showed that the most commented on cards represented positive emotions (_trust_, _surprise_, _anticipation_) compared to the least commented on ones that mainly evoked negative emotions (_disgust_, _fear_, _sadness_), but also included a positive one (_joy_). This outcome, even coming from a small-scale activity, showed an overall positive tendency of teenagers towards AVs that is in line with the FG findings.