Survey says 66% of drivers fear self-driving cars

FILE – Customers look over a Tesla Model Y Long-range on display at the Tesla Gallery on Feb. 24, 2021, in Troy, Mich. The top U.S. transportation official says Tesla shouldn’t call its partially automated driving system Autopilot because the cars can’t drive themselves. “I don’t think that something should be called, for example, an Autopilot, when the fine print says you need to have your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road at all times,” Buttigieg said in an interview with The Associated Press. Texas-based Tesla hasn’t returned messages left Thursday, May 11, 2023, seeking comment. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

by: Daylyn Huff

Posted: Mar 28, 2024 / 10:45 AM EDT

Updated: Mar 28, 2024 / 10:59 AM EDT

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS)—The American Automobile Association (AAA), revealed in a new survey that 66% of drivers are afraid of the idea behind fully self-driving cars and 25% of drivers are uncertain.

In a news release, Adrienne Woodland, spokeswoman, of AAA – The Auto Club Group, says although there aren’t self-driving cars on the road, new technology is available for drivers to improve safety.

“The fears are mostly driven by numerous well-publicized incidents where drivers lost their lives in car crashes because they were led to believe their vehicle could drive itself,” said Woodland. “While there’s no vehicle on the road today that can safely drive itself, there are vehicle technologies that can improve driver safety, as long as the driver remains fully engaged while behind the wheel.”

Officials say even though people who took the survey fear self-driving cars, there is an interest in advanced driver assistance, such as automatic emergency braking (65%) and lane-keeping assistance (62%).

For more information on this study and other resources, visit AAA’s website.

The survey was conducted January 11-16, 2024, using a probability-based panel designed to be representative of the U.S. household population overall. The panel provides sample coverage of approximately 97% of the U.S. household population. Most surveys were completed online; consumers without Internet access were surveyed over the phone.

A total of 1,220 interviews were completed among U.S. adults, 18 years of age or older, of which 1,010 qualified for the study. The margin of error for the study overall is 4.1% at the 95% confidence level. Smaller subgroups have larger error margins.

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