Survey Reveals Most American Adults are “concerned about sharing the road with driverless cars”

By B.N. Frank

Problems with most if not all autonomous aka self-driving software applications (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12) – not just Tesla’s (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) – are increasing. Nevertheless, driverless vehicles continue to be approved for operation on U.S. roads much to the dismay of the majority of American adults.

From Smart Cities Dive:

Self-driving cars have people worried: survey

Although manufacturers tout their potential to reduce accidents, “driverless vehicles are nowhere near ready for prime time,” a safety advocate said.

Dan Zukowski Reporter

More than four out of five adults said they are concerned about sharing the road with driverless cars, despite the technology’s promise of greater safety for vehicle occupants and other road users. That level of concern is consistent across age groups and regions within the U.S.

The survey released Tuesday, commissioned by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, was conducted in February by Caravan. The company polled 2,000 respondents selected from a pool of people who volunteered to participate in online surveys and polls.

“Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have been touted by members of the industry as a solution to reduce crashes, fatalities and injuries, and increase mobility,” said Cathy Chase, president of Advocates, in a press release. But, she added, “By many accounts, driverless vehicles are nowhere near ready for prime time. They have experienced numerous failures resulting in stranded vehicles, blocked traffic, crashes, injuries, and at least one fatality.”

Last month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recalled more than 360,000 Tesla vehicles equipped with “Full Self-Driving Beta” software. NHTSA is also investigating 830,000 Tesla cars with the Autopilot driver assistance system. And in December, the safety agency began a preliminary investigation into automated vehicles from Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors, operating as robotaxis in San Francisco.

According to the survey, 64% of respondents said minimum government safety requirements could ease their concerns. Two-thirds of survey respondents want the government to issue rules to address cybersecurity and potential hacking of self-driving cars, and 72% support requiring “vision tests” for autonomous vehicles to ensure they can identify people and objects on the road. Last year, a test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that some automatic emergency braking systems poorly identified pedestrians at night.

“We urge the U.S. Department of Transportation, Congress and state elected officials to pay attention to the strong sentiment of the public as they develop policies for driverless vehicles,” Chase said. “The role of government is essential in setting safety standards and protecting everyone on our nation’s roads. Without safeguards and regulations, the results could be disastrous and deadly.”