Pennsylvanians remain skeptical of autonomous vehicles

A poll reveals that Pennsylvanians are wary of autonomous vehicles.

Red America, Blue America Research recently polled Pennsylvania residents to see where they fell on certain issues. The topic of discussion for this particular poll is autonomous vehicles, and Pennsylvanians appear to be worried about fully driverless vehicles.

One question asked “Would you be more or less likely to support a politician if you knew they supported allowing highly autonomous, driverless cars and trucks to operate on Pennsylvania public roads?”

Of those polled, 57% indicated they were either somewhat or much less likely to support such a politician. About a quarter said it makes no difference.

Another question dealing with autonomous vehicles asked poll takers: “Would you be more or less likely to support a politician if you knew they supported a human safety operator requirement for all highly automated driverless vehicles?”

Under that context, opinions changed.

About 60% said they were either somewhat or much more likely to support a politician that required a human driver in highly autonomous vehicles.

About one in five indicated it makes no difference.

The poll reveals that in at least Pennsylvania, people are not ready for highly autonomous vehicles that do not require a human driver. Some of the concerns deal with the workplace.

When asked how concerned they are with driverless vehicles being a threat to replacing workers’ jobs, about three-quarters expressed concern, with only 3% indicating they do not know.

Safety is perhaps the biggest concern for those that participated in the poll. More than 80% are concerned that highly autonomous vehicles are a threat to public safety.

For the most part, Pennsylvanians are not OK with any type of driverless vehicle on the roadways. When asked if they are comfortable sharing the road with driverless small compact cars, 62% said “no.” That number gets higher as the vehicle gets larger. Polltakers answered “no” to the same question dealing with SUVs (70%), delivery vans (75%) and tractor-trailers (83%).

Currently, all vehicles are required to have a driver in Pennsylvania, even for testing purposes. However, Pennsylvania elected officials are considering legislation that would allow “highly automated, driverless vehicles to operate on public roads without a human safety operator.” Nearly two-thirds of polltakers were not aware of such legislation. LL