Study finds drivers open to automated driving

A new study by automotive company Continental finds a clear majority of motorists would welcome automated driving. The Continental Mobility Study 2013 indicates that 79 per cent of drivers in China, 77 per cent in Japan, 53 per cent in Germany, and 50 per cent in the US realise the benefit of automated driving. When asked about their individual intentions for using the technology, drivers specified they would primarily like to be driven through freeway roadworks and congestion and long freeway stretches.
January 21, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
A new study by automotive company 260 Continental finds a clear majority of motorists would welcome automated driving.

The Continental Mobility Study 2013 indicates that 79 per cent of drivers in China, 77 per cent in Japan, 53 per cent in Germany, and 50 per cent in the US realise the benefit of automated driving. When asked about their individual intentions for using the technology, drivers specified they would primarily like to be driven through freeway roadworks and congestion and long freeway stretches. They would also like to have self-parking cars.

Increasing production of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) has reduced the cost of the requisite technology to such an extent that these systems can now be offered in all vehicle classes.  The study shows that convenience-oriented advanced driver assistance systems already enjoy high usage rates; 90 per cent of motorists in Germany and China, 84 per cent in the US and 82 per cent in Japan appreciate their usefulness.

The majority of motorists surveyed in Germany and the US are familiar with automated driving. However, in Japan, slightly less than one in three motorists has heard of automated driving. After an explanation of the technology, more than half of all drivers viewed the option of having the vehicle take over the driving as a useful future development. At the same time, the results of the study show that automated driving is not yet as familiar to people as advanced driver assistance systems. A large number of the motorists surveyed worldwide are not convinced that automated driving will function reliably.

In addition, automated driving is an unsettling possibility for more than half of these motorists. Concerns are particularly marked in the US.

The results of the study do, however, also reveal the greater the acceptance of advanced driver assistance systems, the greater the acceptance of automated driving.
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