After some high-profile incidents involving autonomous vehicle technologies, a new survey from American Automobile Association (AAA) finds that consumer trust in autonomous vehicles has quickly eroded. Nearly three-fourths of American drivers say they would be afraid to ride in a fully autonomous vehicle, up significantly from 63 percent in late 2017. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults say they would feel less safe sharing the road with an AV while walking or riding a bicycle.
“Despite their potential to make our roads safer in the long run, consumers have high expectations for safety,” said 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.” Millennials were the most likely to have their trust in AVs swayed by recent incidents.
WANADA continues to explore this new technology during its MobilityTalks International Conference, two days of panels and discussions held annually before the Washington Auto Show.
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