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British ‘What Would You Do in Your Driverless Car’ Survey Yields Unexpected Results

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Jennifer van der Kleut

When South London-based logbook lender Varooma set out to find out what activities Britons would most like to do in their driverless cars once they no longer have to drive their vehicles themselves, they got some unexpected results.

Instead of giving expected answers like sleep, work or watch videos, most Britons said-they wouldn’t be in a driverless car in the first place.

A whopping 73 percent of Britons surveyed said they prefer to drive themselves over taking a driverless car.

Along the same vein, 38 percent of responders said they would not purchase a driverless car, even if they were readily available for purchase and were the same price as regular cars.

Are autonomous vehicles better suited to future generations? Varooma suggests their survey results may indicate just that. Results said that 18- to 24-year-olds would be most comfortable and “chill” engaging in other activities rather than paying attention to the road in a driverless car.

Then, after skipping a generation or so, acceptance of the idea of driverless cars gains traction again as people enter their senior years. The survey results show that people of ages 55 to 64 are more likely to want to purchase a driverless car than adults age 45 to 54.

The idea of autonomous vehicles have long been touted as a solution for aging drivers, as well as those with physical disabilities.

However, those open to the idea of driverless cars did have a few ideas of what they would like to do on their commutes if they didn’t need to pay attention to the road.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, 24 percent of men age 18-24 said they would “catch Pokemon.” Twenty-two percent said they would “catch up on sleep.”

Almost all responders said they would love to read a book or watch a movie.

Interestingly, more women said they would be a little distrusting of the technology and would probably keep one eye on the road (22.3 percent) than men (16.3 percent).

What jobs would Britons trust their car to do without them, while they were at work?

Another popular idea in regards to autonomous vehicles is the idea that your car could perform simple jobs for you while you are otherwise engaged, such as daytime work hours. So, Varooma also asked their survey takers what jobs they would feel comfortable sending their car to do while they were at work.

The number-one response from middle-aged men was “send their car to the car wash.”

The top answer from women of the same age was to send their car to pick up take-out food.

When it came to driving around their children, though, the numbers were a lot lower. Only around 4 percent of responders said they would feel comfortable having their autonomous car drive their children to school without them.

Even fewer said they would feel comfortable sending their car to deliver cash to someone-3.6 percent.

Varooma’s survey was conducted through Google consumer surveys. Their survey netted 1,591 online responses.

 

Wagon1

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

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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.

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Consumers Insist on Steering Wheels in Driverless Cars, and Canadians Say Yes to Driverless Tech, Sort Of

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Burney Simpson

Two new surveys indicate the public has high demands but mixed feelings about driverless vehicles, though they are aware of some of the challenges that auto manufacturers face as they develop the technology.

Nine out of 10 consumers demand that autonomous vehicle occupants have the ability to override the vehicle controls at any time, according to a survey of 10,000 consumers worldwide commissioned by Volvo.

At the same time, 81 percent say the auto OEM should be responsible for an accident that occurs when the vehicle is in autonomous driving mode. Further, 90 percent say that an autonomous car should pass a driving test just like a human driver.

“People have told us that they need to feel in control and have the choice of when to delegate driving to the car,” said Volvo’s Anders Tylman-Mikiewicz, in a press release. “Today, that need is ultimately fulfilled with the presence of a steering wheel. … Therefore, a steering wheel is necessary until those needs change.”

A survey of Canadian consumers found mixed feelings there as well.

About 25 percent of Canadians are excited about the cars, about 25 percent are wary, and about half say it depends on the technology, according to a survey from Kanetix.ca, an online insurance comparison shopping site based in Toronto.VolvoSafer_drive_VCC08684_ListItem2

Canadian men are twice as likely as women to say they would use a driverless car, and people aged 18-34 are the most enthusiastic about the technology. These advocates say the cars will mean safer roads, more relaxing drives, and easier parking.

And nearly one in five Canadians think driverless cars would be just “plain cool,” Kanetix reports.

Folks in Canada’s two Eastern provinces – Quebec and Ontario – are more excited about driverless than those in the West.

That is fortunate as Ontario on January 1 officially began allowed the testing of driverless vehicles, joining states like California and Michigan. As of last October, the province and partner businesses had promised they would invest about $3 million in the testing.

The Ontario Centres of Excellence Connected Vehicle/Automated Vehicle program is coordinating business and government investments in the activity.