Engineering news
More than 65% of motorists want to retain the right to drive even though driverless cars are coming, according to two new pieces of research.
These findings were revealed by IAM RoadSmart in an independent survey of 1,000 British motorists and poll among its 92,000 members.
Those 65% of motorists believe that a human being should always be in control of a vehicle with 53% saying that the focus should be on making drivers safer – not just cars.
The results also revealed that 20% of motorists thought driverless cars were a good idea, while 34% thought they were a bad idea. At the same time, 22% thought that driverless cars would ‘be the norm on UK roads’ within years, whereas 55% thought that driverless cars would never be the norm on UK roads.
When told that 95% of accidents were down to ‘human error’ and that there was ‘a strong case for taking driver control out of the equation,’ 24% agreed with the proposition, 15% disagreed with the proposition and 60% said ‘wait and see.’
IAM RoadSmart says that while their members welcome the hi-tech advances which are improving vehicle safety, but want to maintain their control of a car – even though autonomous technology will be able to do it for them.
When asked whether they would ‘consider using a driverless car,’ 32% said yes they would, 38% said no they would not and 29% said that they were unsure.
Sarah Sillars, chief executive of IAM RoadSmart, said: “Technological advances that make driving and riding safer for all road users have to be embraced whole-heartedly – but British motorists and our members, do want the right to drive.
“Intelligent cars will deliver a step change in road safety by targeting the human errors we make from time-to-time. At IAM RoadSmart we believe a well-trained driver and an ever-vigilant car is a win-win scenario for the future.
“This technology will also prove to be a major boost for business and keep UK PLC at the very edge of technological advance.
“The government is due to consult this summer on how the UK can lead the development of autonomous vehicles; we are ready, willing and able to participate fully in this discussion.”
The survey results follow a recent announcement from Volvo which will begin the UK’s most ambitious autonomous driving trial next year to speed up the introduction of autonomous driving on UK roads.
The test, called Drive Me London, will see real families driving autonomous cars on public roads, differentiating itself from other autonomous driving (AD) programmes carried out so far.