Most Americans are afraid of fully self-driving vehicles

More than two-thirds of Americans are afraid of fully self-driving vehicles, according to a new AAA survey.

When asked if they are afraid, unsure or trust self-driving vehicles, 68% of survey respondents indicated they are afraid. That is a major shift from last year’s survey, which indicated that 55% of Americans were afraid of self-driving vehicles.

“We were not expecting such a dramatic decline in trust from previous years,” Greg Brannon, director of automotive research for AAA, said in a statement. “Although with the number of high-profile crashes that have occurred from overreliance on current vehicle technologies, this isn’t entirely surprising.”

There appears to be some confusion about self-driving vehicles available on the market.

According to AAA’s survey, one in 10 drivers say they believe they can purchase a vehicle that completely drives itself while they sleep. However, there is no vehicle available to the public with those capabilities.

When it comes to vehicles that are on the market, AAA found there is still some confusion regarding those vehicles’ capabilities. Specifically, 22% of Americans expect systems like Autopilot, ProPILOT and Pilot Assist to drive the vehicle itself without human driver supervision. Again, no such technology exists to the public.

Americans are not afraid of all autonomous vehicle technology. Six in 10 survey respondents indicated they would “definitely” or “probably” want certain advanced driver assistance systems in their vehicles. That includes blind spot warning, adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking.

Fatal Tesla crashes

Increasing fears of self-driving vehicles come as more Tesla vehicles with the Full Self-Driving system get into fatal crashes. On Feb. 19, a Tesla Model S driver was pronounced dead after crashing into a parked fire truck. Last July, two people were killed when a Tesla car crashed into the back of parked tractor-trailer at a rest area in Alachua County, Fla.

In October 2021, an owner of a Tesla Model S faced vehicular manslaughter charges, the first time felony charges have stemmed from a crash involving an automated driving system like Tesla’s Autopilot feature.

In August 2019, NTSB issued a report blaming Autopilot for a 2018 crash involving a 2014 Tesla Model S and a 2006 Seagrave fire truck.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has expressed its concern over Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system. In a letter to NHTSA, OOIDA explained how the misleading name of Tesla’s autonomous system poses a danger to all motorists, including truckers.

“The use of unfinished and unproven automated technologies poses a significant threat to small-business truckers, and we urge you to take action to protect all road users and promote greater transparency and oversight of their development,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer wrote. LL