Keep it Away: Drivers Don’t Want Self-Driving Cars

Burney Simpson

The vast majority of U.S. drivers would prefer their car have no or only partial self-driving capabilities, according to a survey from the University of Michigan. Less than 16 percent want their car to be completely self-driving.

The online survey found that 46 percent of drivers don’t want any self-driving capabilities in their car and 39 percent want only partial capabilities.

Results are rounded. There was little notable difference in the results for men and women.

The survey ‘Motorists’ Preferences for Different Levels of Vehicle Automation 2016’ was conducted in April by the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI). It used the Survey Monkey service and received fully-completed answers from 618 licensed drivers 18 and older. The respondents closely follow U.S. demographics by age and gender.

UMTRI received similar results to the question in a survey conducted a year ago.

In the new survey, respondents showed hesitancy to riding in a self-driving vehicle.

More than two-thirds were very or moderately concerned with riding in a self-driving car, with 37 percent very concerned.

About 10 percent were not concerned with riding in a self-driving car, and 17 percent were not concerned about riding in a partially self-driving car. The 2015 survey found similar results.

Older respondents were generally more opposed to self-driving technology, and in riding in a self-driving vehicle.

As far as equipment, almost 95 percent would like to have a steering wheel and gas and brake pedals in the vehicle. This was the response for both men and women, and across age groups.

Nearly 90 percent of respondents would prefer using either a touch screen or voice command when inputting a route or destination when in a completely self-driving car.

When asked about warning signals that a partially self-driving vehicle must use to inform the driver to take command of the car, about 60 percent prefer a combination of sound, visual, and vibration cues. This result crossed gender lines.

The survey was conducted under UMTRI’s Sustainable Worldwide Transportation department. The report is from Brandon Schoettle, project manager, and Michael Sivak, research professor.

Photo – Covered wagon by Miki Yoshihito, 2010.