AAA: More Americans Willing to Ride in Fully Self-Driving Cars

Male and millennial drivers most accepting of automated vehicles

American drivers are more willing to embrace self-driving vehicles, according to a new study from AAA.  The annual survey reveals that 63 percent of U.S. drivers report feeling afraid to ride in a fully self-driving vehicle, a significant decrease from 78 percent in early 2017.  Millennial and male drivers are the most trusting of autonomous technologies, with only half reporting they would be afraid to ride in a self-driving car. 

More than 20 million Americans say they would trust a self-driving vehicle, which is a large shift in attitude over one year,�?? said Theresa Podguski, AAA East Central Director of Legislative Affairs.  “Exposure to the technologies has likely helped ease fears, especially among millennials who are nearly 20 percent less skittish about autonomous vehicles than baby boomers.�??

Conversely, the concept of sharing the road with a fully self-driving vehicle is still something that drivers are leery of.  In AAA’s survey, only 13 percent of U.S. drivers report that they would feel safer sharing the road with a self-driving vehicle while nearly half (46 percent) would actually feel less safe.  Others say they are indifferent (37 percent) or unsure (4 percent).

Additional survey results include:

* Women (73 percent) are more likely than men (52 percent) to be afraid to ride in a self-driving vehicle, and more likely to feel less safe sharing the road with a self-driving car (55 percent versus 36 percent).

* Millennials are the most trusting of self-driving vehicles, with only 49 percent (down from 73 percent) reporting that they would be afraid to ride in a self-driving car.  While the majority of baby boomers (68 percent) still report being afraid to ride in a self-driving car, this generation is significantly more comfortable with the idea than they were a year ago, when 85 percent reported being afraid.

* Baby boomers (54 percent) and Generation X (47 percent) drivers are more likely than millennial drivers (34 percent) to feel less safe sharing the road with a self-driving car.

Although fears of self-driving vehicles appear to be easing, U.S. drivers report high confidence in their own driving abilities." Despite the fact that more than 90 percent of crashes involve human error, three-quarters (73 percent) of U.S. drivers consider themselves better-than-average drivers.  Men, in particular, are confident in their driving skills with 8 in 10 considering their driving skills better than average.

* This confidence could explain some of the hesitation among Americans to give up control to a self-driving vehicle," explained Podguski.

To help educate consumers on the effectiveness of emerging vehicle technologies, AAA is committed to the ongoing, unbiased testing of automated vehicle technologies." Previous testing of "automatic emergency braking. AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 81 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members.