Talk to most road safety ‘enthusiasts’ and they agree that the advent of autonomous vehicles raises a degree of optimism around improving the statistics around road fatalities. The reasoning is that drivers – 95% of crashes attributed to driver behaviour – would have no involvement in the process. This thereby eliminates the greater majority of contributing factors.
However, following high-profile incidents involving autonomous vehicle technologies, a new report from AAA’s (in the US) multiyear tracking study indicates that consumer trust in these vehicles is quickly eroding.
Today, nearly three-quarters (73%) of American drivers report they will be too afraid to ride in a fully self-driving vehicle. This is up significantly from 63% in late 2017. Additionally, two-thirds (63%) of US adults report they will actually feel less safe sharing the road with a self-driving vehicle while walking or riding a bicycle.
“Despite their potential to make our roads safer in the long-run, consumers have high expectations for safety. ” This is according to Greg Brannon, AAA’s director of automotive engineering and industry relations. “Our results show that any incident involving an autonomous vehicle is likely to shake consumer trust, which is a critical component to the widespread acceptance of autonomous vehicles.”
Surprisingly, AAA’s latest survey found that millennial’s — the group quickest to embrace automated vehicle technologies — are the most impacted. Percentages of millennial drivers too afraid to ride in fully self-driving vehicles jumped from 49% to 64% since late 2017. This represents the largest increase of any generation surveyed.
“Autonomous vehicles are still undergoing testing. There’s always a chance they will fail. Alternatively they can encounter a situation that challenges even the most advanced system. ” This is according to Megan Foster, AAA’s director of federal affairs. “To ease fears, there must be safeguards in place. These must protect vehicle occupants and motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians with whom they share the road.”
With that in mind – given the greater challenges Africa faces – we can probably conclude that any hope we may have in reducing our sad sate of affairs is still a long way off. This is at least any that autonomous vehicles will have a hand in improving.
Click here to read more MasterTips
