New study: public continues to be wary of driverless cars

The majority of people (66 per cent) would be uncomfortable travelling in a driverless car at 70mph, according to a new study of 2,053 members of the public, carried out by ICM Unlimited on behalf of the UK Institution of Mechanical Engineers. The news follows last week’s announcement that the Government has awarded a contract to TRL to test platoons of driverless lorries on major British roads by the end of next year. According to the findings, younger people tend to be more accepting of the technology, wi
August 30, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

The majority of people (66 per cent) would be uncomfortable travelling in a driverless car at 70mph, according to a new study of 2,053 members of the public, carried out by ICM Unlimited on behalf of the UK 5025 Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

The news follows last week’s announcement that the Government has awarded a contract to 491 TRL to test platoons of driverless lorries on major British roads by the end of next year.

According to the findings, younger people tend to be more accepting of the technology, with 45 per cent of 25-36 year olds saying they would be comfortable in a 70mph driverless car, compared to just 13 per cent 65-74 year olds and eight per cent of over 75s. Women tended to be more cautious about the technology, with 72 per cent saying they would be uncomfortable compared to 60 per cent for men.

The survey found that 50 per cent of the public think that humans are better drivers than computers/cars, despite the fact that 90 per cent of UK road accidents are the result of driver error.

While the survey also showed that there is reluctance by the public to allow people who are sight-impaired to be the sole occupant of a driverless car, with just 23 per cent saying this should be allowed, there was also very little acceptance for people who are intoxicated being responsible for a driverless car, with just 12 per cent saying this would be acceptable.

Location Based Systems

Related Content

  • November 5, 2015
    Volvo Cars developing kangaroo detection system
    Volvo Cars is developing kangaroo detection technology to solve one of the most costly causes of traffic collisions in Australia. A team of Volvo Cars safety experts is in the Australian Capital Territory to film and study the roadside behaviour of kangaroos in their natural habitat. The data Volvo Cars collects will be used to develop the first ever kangaroo detection and collision avoidance system. According to the National Roads & Motorists’ Association (NRMA) there are over 20,000 kangaroo strikes on A
    Read More
  • March 3, 2016
    Top speeders exceeding 100mph in 30mph zones
    Five drivers have been caught travelling at more than 100mph on 30 and 40mph limit roads in England, according to the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM). A further two were caught travelling at over 70mph in these areas, which tend to be largely residential. The statistics were part of a Freedom of Information request by the IAM to every police force in Britain, asking for the location and speed of their top five highest recorded cases captured on safety cameras in their areas from 1 January 2015 to 3
    Read More
  • March 28, 2017
    Commuting habits come under scrutiny
    Cities have a moral responsibility to encourage the smart use of transportation and Andrew Bardin Williams hears a few suggestions. Given the choice of getting a root canal, doing household chores, filing taxes, eating anchovies or commuting to work, nearly two-thirds of Americans said that they wouldn’t mind commuting into work—at least according to a poll conducted by Xerox (now Conduent) over its social media channels at the end of 2016.
    Read More
  • June 6, 2019
    Continental: US road deaths are ‘public health crisis’
    The 40,000 deaths on US roads last year amount to a ‘public health crisis’, according to Continental North America’s president Jeff Klei. Giving the opening keynote address at ITS America’s 28th Annual Meeting & Expo, Klei said: “If you could save 40,000 lives a year, would you? We believe this situation needs to be treated with the same priority as other health crises in this country.” But help is at hand, he said. The concept of ‘Vision Zero’, where there are no fatalities from crashes, “seems a lon
    Read More

Highlighted Content