Gen Y suspect of autonomous vehicles. Is mistrust based in reality?
Carolyn Mathas -September 25, 2017
Just a few months ago, J.D. Power released its 2017 U.S. Tech Choice Study. In it, those representing Gen Y (1977 – 1994) are shown to not be confident in self-driving cars. The study polled 8,500 Americans for a pulse on how they felt about emerging self-driving technology.
Results in some cases were predictable. Mistrust of autonomous cars by pre-Boomers (born before 1946) grew by 9%, while 81% of Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964) also showed a growth in wariness this year over last. Eleven percent of Generation Z’ers (1995 - 2004) old enough to participate in the study said they would “definitely not” trust self-driving technology, while 23%, “probably not”.
(What happened to Generation X? The study pretty much ignored their opinions in favor of discussing the drop in acceptance across most of the other groups.)
Generation Y was the only group to see acceptance of the technology grow compared to last year. Generation Z respondents do want and will pay for convenience and autonomous safety gear such as automatic emergency steering and automatic breaking in their next vehicle. A system that predicts a driver’s needs while controlling vehicle functions, a self -parking feature, or a limited self-driving mode was of interest to 53% of Generations Y and Z.
What other groups think
Other studies join the Powers survey, including those from AAA, Kelley Blue Book, MIT, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, the Consumer Technology Association, Gartner, & Deloitte, and the results are pretty consistent:
- MIT’s white paper states that trust in full automation is on the wane. A recent MIT AgeLab survey claims that only 13% of motorists indicated comfort with taking away all control of their vehicles. This figure is down from 25% the previous year.
- AAA reports that more than 75% of Americans are afraid to ride in a self-driving vehicle.
- Kelley Blue Book’s survey agrees, stating that 80% of people said that drivers should always retain the option to drive, while two-thirds said they want to be in full control at all times.
- Gartner’s survey shows that half of respondents in the U.S. and Germany would not consider riding in a fully autonomous vehicle. “Fear of autonomous vehicles getting confused by unexpected situations, safety concerns around equipment and system failures, and vehicle and system security are top concerns around using fully autonomous vehicles,” stated Gartner research director Mike Ramsey.
- Alone in its results is the Consumer Technology poll, representing 2,200 consumer electronics industry companies, showing that 70% of U.S. consumers want to try out an autonomous car. Personally, I would like to “try it out” too. I would feel differently about testing an autonomous vehicle at a WalMart parking lot after-hours, however, than I would driving in San Francisco traffic. Would I be listed as part of the 70%?
- Deloitte contacted 22,000 respondents worldwide. Their conclusion is that the best way to ease fears is the gradual implementation of autonomy and in-car controls so that drivers could change their destination or order the car to pull over.
- 84% of consumers fear a software malfunction in a driverless car. Eighty percent worry about a hardware breakdown, while 77% are concerned that their car could be hacked, an AlixPartners survey of more than 1,500 U.S. drivers found.
All told, 55-84% of survey respondents have serious reservations about self-driving cars—and manufacturers truly have their work cut out to change existing perceptions.
The problems are real. In just three years, the California DMV received 37 Autonomous Vehicle Accident Reports, and they are increasing rather than diminishing. The first autonomous car fatality recently occurred after a Tesla in autopilot mode hit a white truck that the system could not distinguish against a bright sky, and failed to apply the brakes.
What else may be operating, however, is the reputation of auto manufacturers. The industry that says, “Trust me,” as to self-driving cars, is the same on responsible for:
- Cheating on emissions test results
- Faulty switches causing 169 deaths
- Unexpected acceleration
- Exploding airbags
- Supercar recall based on wheel arch glue that melted from exhaust pipe proximity
- Exploding tires
- Cars prone to rollovers
- Defective transmissions
Is it any mystery that mistrust is growing?
Also see:
- Self-driving cars? Puhleeeze…
- Self-driving cars will save money and lives as they destroy jobs
- Self-driving cars are stuck at idle, while driver assistance accelerates
- Despite Tesla accidents, autonomous vehicles are closer than they appear
- Can we accept autonomous vehicles with autonomous bugs?
- Autonomous automotive sensors: How processor algorithms get their inputs
- Autonomous vehicles - Be Afraid
