
While carmakers seem to be hyped up about the idea of self-driving vehicles, it seems there is a sizeable number of consumers who don’t share the same excitement, according to a recent survey.
A CarGurus survey found that nearly four in five (79 per cent) car owners are not excited about self-driving cars. Further, 84 per cent of car owners say they definitely will not or probably will not own a self-driving car in the next 5 years and 59 per cent say the same for a 10-year window.
More than 1,800 people in the U.S. were surveyed in April.
When it comes to trust, 27 per cent don’t put faith in any company. About a quarter, 24 per cent, trust Tesla, with 9 per cent trusting Toyota, 6 per cent with General Motors and 5 per cent for Waymo, Google’s self-driving venture.
Why? Safety seems to be a top concern. After the survey came out, reports of Tesla crashing while in Autopilot mode came to the forefront. There was also the recent fatality from the Uber incident, which happened shortly before the survey took place.
More than 80 per cent of respondents said safety was their biggest concern, with another 47 per cent noting that the technology is not ready. On the other hand, safety was noted by 64 per cent of those who were excited about self-driving vehicles, with having a productive commute appealing to 58 per cent of respondents.
“The data showed strong opinions and overall trepidation about self-driving cars,” said Madison Gross, senior manager of consumer insights at CarGurus. “As is often the case with new technology, exposure seems to build comfort. Even though some early adopters are very excited about self-driving cars, the majority of the general public will need time to become more comfortable around them.”
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Have yet to meet anyone who wants one, and as an owner of a very busy 7 bay shop, I talk to a lot of people. Why is the push on anyways? Most people enjoy driving their own cars and that won’t ever change. I hope to hell I won’t see the day when I sit in my car like I’m in a taxi and I’m not driving!
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Nothing could interest me LESS than a self-driving car. I love to drive and I can also relax during the morning/evening commute and have myself sorted out by the time I arrive at my destination. I also view autonomous vehicles as machines that have no reasoning. It is incapable of determining if it has encountered a jay-walker or a piece of debris so it continues forward. There was talk about autonomous aircraft in the air force 60 years ago. A pilot came up with a very profound statement: ‘A pilotless airplane cannot properly analyze a situation and decide if it should attack or not. It senses a strange aircraft and it is incapable of determining whether it’s an enemy or an airliner that drifted off course. So it will simply do what it is programmed to do: eliminate the threat.’ Time to forget about a driverless vehicle and improve the safety features of an ATR….
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