Survey: 86% of Americans afraid of, unsure about self-driving cars

By No User February 25, 2021 | updated 4 years ago

self-driving car automated vehicle — Getty Images

The widespread anxiety surrounding self-driving cars is proving hard to shake, according to results from AAA’s newest annual survey released Thursday.

The national survey found that 54% of Americans are afraid to ride in a self-driving vehicle and 32% are unsure about it. These results are roughly the same as last year, showing a lack of growth.

“As with any new technology, the roll-out of a fully self-driving fleet requires consumer trust, buy-in and interest,” said Skyler McKinley with AAA Colorado. “We’re just not seeing that yet.”

McKinley said AAA’s research suggests people want new vehicle technology that they think will make driving safer. Of respondents, 80% said they want manufacturers to focus on current vehicle safety systems.

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Only 22% want manufacturers to focus on self-driving vehicles. Respondents preferred work go toward perfecting automatic emergency braking and lane-keeping assistance. In fact, 58% want these systems in their next vehicle.

“There’s good news for automakers, here,” McKinley said. “If automakers and their tech partners work to fine-tune existing technology to provide a better experience now, that will bring about the vehicles of tomorrow.”

Nearly 96% of 2020 vehicle models came with at least one advanced driver assistance system, like automatic braking, lane-keeping and blind-spot warning.

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However, the issues with current automated driver assistance systems may be partially responsible for the public’s hesitancy towards self-driving cars.

AAA research from August 2020 found that vehicles that rely on advanced, partially-automated driving technology experience some type of issue every eight miles on average.

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Despite this, AAA believes self-driving cars are still the way of the future. Though years away from customer availability, self-driving vehicles have begun testing on public roads and new vehicles are becoming more and more automated.

But to gain the missing confidence from customers, McKinley said industry actors have to start being honest about the product.

“Smartphones became ubiquitous as their manufacturers worked to improve and perfect existing features, instead of promising that the tech would completely change the world overnight,” McKinley said.

“There is a lesson there for anybody claiming their self-driving car is right around the corner. Focus on the fundamentals first, build trust, and you’ll lead the way into the future.”