Autonomous message not getting through

New research has found that the public’s wariness of autonomous driving has hardly shifted in the last two years.

Nearly a third of UK adults think we will never switch to having only driverless cars on the roads while 60% of people say they would always prefer to drive themselves rather than use a self-driving vehicle.

This is according to a new opinion poll from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

The poll found the public remains wary of driverless technology with two thirds of people uncomfortable with the idea of travelling in an autonomous car, the same level as two years ago. More people (32%) would like the vehicles to be restricted to driving only up to than 30mph, up from 27% in 2017.

In its report on the survey, ‘Public Perceptions: Driverless Cars’, the Institution calls for more trials with autonomous vehicles sharing the roads so that people can see the cars in action and have a chance to ride in them.

Dr Colin Brown, chief executive of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said, ‘Consumer confidence is essential for autonomous technology to succeed, but if anything, that confidence has waned in the last two years. During that time, there have been very few controlled trials on our roads to allow people to experience the vehicles at first hand. As engineers, we remain convinced of the need to explore the potential advantages the technology offers.

‘The Government has plans for trials of self-driving cars on roads in Edinburgh and London by 2021, but we would like to see more taking place in other locations in the UK.’

The poll found attitudes towards autonomous technology varying significantly by gender, age and by region. A third of men are comfortable about travelling in a driverless vehicle, whilst less than one fifth of women say the same.

The poll was carried out by ICM and surveyed 2,014 adults in the UK in July 2019.