Self-driving cars are the future of motoring, or so the public are told on an almost daily basis. However the key question of ‘are the public ready for driverless cars?’ is rarely asked or considered.
A brand new study by intelligentcarleasing.com has asked exactly that, with 1750 adults aged 18-65+ being surveyed on the matter.
The public’s response was a resounding 61% in support of human controlled vehicles, showing that autonomous car manufacturers have a long way to go to get the public on board.
Implications:
This is a very important issue for both policy makers and car manufacturers. The credibility of driverless vehicles is by no means cemented, considering a self-driving bus encountered a collision just 2 hours into its first day of operation in Las Vegas recently.
Combine this with transport secretary Chris Grayling targeting 2021 for driverless cars to be on the UK’s roads, the public’s attitude to autonomous vehicles has become a much more pressing concern.
Autonomous vehicles might be road legal and mechanically ready. However the public need to be on board or else the technology could be a massive flop.
Data Insights:
Within the responses Intelligent Car Leasing received, there were noticeable differences in attitudes between certain age groups and genders.
Female respondents had 10% more confidence in human driven vehicles compared to their tech-loving male counterparts.
There was an even bigger disparity when looking at the difference in responses by age. The over 65s had a hugely noticeable 17% higher confidence in human drivers, compared to the younger 18-25s category.
