Skip to main content

Motorists prefer 'no self-driving capability’, says survey

The latest report by Brandon Schoettle and Michael Sivak, Sustainable Worldwide Transportation at the University of Michigan, builds on their recent series of eight reports addressing public opinion, human factors, and safety-related issues concerning self-driving vehicles. An identical survey to that used in 2015 was administered. The survey was developed to examine motorists’ preferences among levels of vehicle automation, including preferences for interacting with and overall concern about riding in s
May 24, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The latest report by Brandon Schoettle and Michael Sivak, Sustainable Worldwide Transportation at the University of Michigan, builds on their recent series of eight reports addressing public opinion, human factors, and safety-related issues concerning self-driving vehicles. An identical survey to that used in 2015 was administered.

The survey was developed to examine motorists’ preferences among levels of vehicle automation, including preferences for interacting with and overall concern about riding in self-driving vehicles. Completed responses were received from 618 licensed drivers in the US.

The main findings include: The most frequent preference for vehicle automation continues to be for no self-driving capability, followed by partially self-driving vehicles, with completely self-driving vehicles being the least preferred choice;  Concern for riding in self-driving vehicles remains higher for completely self-driving vehicles than for partially self-driving vehicles; Respondents still overwhelmingly want to be able to manually control completely self-driving vehicles when desired; Preferences were generally divided between touch-screens or voice commands to input route or destination information for completely self-driving vehicles; Most respondents prefer to be notified of the need to take control of a partially self-driving vehicle with a combination of sound, vibration, and visual warnings.

The authors say that overall public opinion has been remarkably consistent over the two years that this survey has been conducted. The general patterns of responses have not changed over the course of these two surveys, despite the increased media coverage of self-driving vehicles.

Related Content

  • TfL cycle superhighways plans will still disrupt traffic, says FTA
    January 28, 2015
    The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has set out final plans for the construction of Europe’s longest substantially-segregated urban cycleways, the centrepiece of his US$1.3 billion commitment to get more Londoners on their bikes. Subject to approval by Transport for London, construction of the routes will begin in March. Two continuous cycle routes, almost completely separated from traffic, will cross central London from east to west and north to south, opening up thousands of new journey opportunit
  • Glasgow’s new Operations Centre has a key role in city’s future
    June 6, 2014
    David Crawford investigates a control centre with a future. Destined to play a central role in keeping the city and its transport running smoothly during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in July, the new Glasgow Operations Centre in Scotland’s largest urban centre formally went live earlier this year. The aim was to dry run its far-reaching integration of previously distinct core systems and familiarise the public with the initial phase of what will be a long-term post-event legacy. The centre brings together, i
  • Why integrated traffic management needs a cohesive approach
    April 10, 2012
    Traffic control is increasingly being viewed as one essential element of a wider ‘system of systems’ – the smart city. Jason Barnes, Jon Masters and David Crawford report on latest ideas and efforts for making cities ‘smarter’ Virtually every element of the fabric and utilitarian operations that make urban areas tick can now be found somewhere in the mix that is the ‘smart city’ agenda. Ideas have expanded and projects pursued in different directions as the rhetoric on making cities ‘smarter’ has grown. App
  • Survey reveals most dangerous driver behaviour in construction zones
    April 26, 2012
    According to a 495 Express Lanes survey of law enforcement officers serving in Northern Virginia, texting while driving is the most dangerous behavior in construction zones, ahead of speeding, aggressive driving and not obeying changing traffic patterns. Yesterday, in conjunction with National Work Zone Awareness Week in the US, partners on one of the largest highway construction projects in the region released these findings in a new distracted driving report.