Fact Sheet

UC Berkeley SafeTREC releases factsheet on public perception of autonomous vehicle safety in San Francisco

December 18, 2025
Infographic detailing for a pedestrian and cyclist, a Lidar sensor with a car and a passenger in a car.

Image credit: Amalia Stahl

The safety performance of autonomous vehicles (AVs) is fundamental to protecting all road users, but public perception of their safety is equally important, as it shapes trust, acceptance, and willingness to share the road with this...

Public perception of Autonomous Vehicle Safety in San Francisco Factsheet

Introduction

The safety performance of autonomous vehicles (AVs) is fundamental to protecting all road users, but public perception of their safety is equally important, as it shapes trust, acceptance, and willingness to share the road with this technology. The city of San Francisco provides a unique environment to study safety perceptions of AVs for different road users given that they have operated on city streets for years, allowing residents to experience substantial amounts of interactions with this technology. The UC Berkeley Safe Transportation...

Public Perception of Autonomous Vehicle Safety in San Francisco

Amalia Stahl
2025
Introduction

The safety performance of autonomous vehicles (AVs) is fundamental to protecting all road users, but public perception of their safety is equally important, as it shapes trust, acceptance, and willingness to share the road with this technology. The city of San Francisco provides a unique environment to study safety perceptions of AVs for different road users given that they have operated on city streets for years, allowing residents to experience substantial amounts of interactions with this technology. The UC Berkeley Safe Transportation Research and Education...

2025 series of SafeTREC Traffic Safety Facts released!

October 27, 2025
The 2025 SafeTREC Traffic Safety Facts series features the latest trends and data on various traffic safety topics, including pedestrian and bicyclist safety, drug and alcohol-impaired driving, and emergency medical services.

UC Berkeley Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC) is excited to announce the release of the 2025 series of Traffic Safety Fact Sheets, which feature traffic safety data and trends at the national and state level on twelve road...

2025 California Traffic Safety Survey Summary

Lisa Peterson
Karen Nguyen Vo
2025

The UC Berkeley Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC) has released the California Traffic Safety Survey 2025. The study was led by Ewald & Wasserman Research Consultants (E&W) and conducted on behalf of the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) and SafeTREC.

The California Traffic Safety Survey has been conducted annually since 2010 to gain a better understanding of a range of traffic safety behaviors and to help inform traffic safety programs and public education campaigns. This year’s survey was conducted with an online panel of California...

2024 series of SafeTREC Traffic Safety Facts released!

November 6, 2024
The 2024 SafeTREC Traffic Safety Facts series features the latest trends and data on various levels of traffic safety, including pedestrian and bicyclist safety, drug and alcohol-impaired driving, and emergency medical services.

UC Berkeley Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC) is excited to announce the release of the 2024 series of Traffic Safety Fact Sheets, which feature traffic safety data and trends at the national and state level on twelve...

2024 California Traffic Safety Survey Summary

Lisa Peterson
Karen Nguyen Vo
2024

The UC Berkeley Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC) has released the California Traffic Safety Survey 2024. The study was led by Ewald & Wasserman Research Consultants (E&W) and conducted on behalf of the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) and SafeTREC.

The California Traffic Safety Survey has been conducted annually since 2010 to gain a better understanding of a range of traffic safety behaviors, and to help inform traffic safety programs and public education campaigns. This year’s survey was conducted with an online panel of California...

New Release: 2023 SafeTREC Traffic Safety Fact Sheets

September 29, 2023
2023 SafeTREC Traffic Safety Fact Sheets feature recent data on some of California's most pressing traffic safety issues to help inform future road safety efforts

UC Berkeley SafeTREC is excited to announce the release of the 2023 series of Traffic Safety Fact Sheets, which feature traffic safety data and trends at the national and state level on a variety of road safety topics. This series also highlights the Safe System approach to road safety, which...

New Release: 2022 SafeTREC Traffic Safety Fact Sheets

September 12, 2022
2022 SafeTREC Traffic Safety Fact Sheets feature recent data on some of California's most pressing traffic safety issues to help inform future road safety efforts

UC Berkeley SafeTREC is excited to announce the release of the 2022 series of Traffic Safety Fact Sheets, which feature traffic safety data and trends at the national and state level on a variety of road safety topics. This series also highlights the Safe System approach to road safety, which the United States Department of Transportation...

2022 SafeTREC Traffic Safety Fact Sheet: Drug-Involved Driving

Katherine L. Chen
Bor-Wen Tsai
Garrett Fortin
Jill F. Cooper
2022
The use of cannabis, prescription drugs, and other drugs are increasingly prominent on roadways in the United States, where 25.3 percent of the nation’s 38,824 fatalities in 2020 were related to drug-involved driving. Driving can be impaired by a variety of legal and illegal drugs, substances, and medications. The effect of specific drugs on behavior and driving skills vary considerably depending on how they act in the brain and are metabolized. They can slow reaction time, decrease coordination, increase aggressive and reckless driving, impair cognitive function, or cause drowsiness. All of...