AAA: 75% Of Drivers Say They Wouldn’t Feel Safe In An Autonomous Vehicle

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A future where we’re all tooling around in self-driving cars with our feet up on the dash, hands behind the head, relaxing at the wheel is still far away. But while technology companies and car manufacturers alike are rushing to test their own autonomous vehicles, the average American driver doesn’t feel quite comfortable with the idea of riding in a driverless car just yet, according to the results of a recent AAA survey.

AAA’s survey of 1,800 drivers found that 75% of drivers[PDF] say they wouldn’t feel safe in a driverless vehicle. But it’s worthing nothing that 60% said they would like access to some kind of self-driving feature, like self-parking, lane departure warnings, adaptive cruise control, and other options the next time they buy a new car.

Those in the industry of making autonomous vehicles have touted them as eventually being safer than cars with humans behind the wheel, because cars can’t get distracted, fall asleep, or drive while impaired by alcohol or drugs, among other things.

While some may be uneasy about letting a self-driving car do all the work (if you’ve seen a certain episode of Silicon Valley, you know what I mean), everything could change as we all become more accustomed to this kind of technology through autonomous features like self-parking.

“People who have these features tend to like them and trust them. That will go a long way for them to start to accept the self-driving technology,” John Nielsen, AAA’s managing director of automotive engineering and repair, told CNNMoney, adding that he thinks the “comfort level” factor will increase in the next five to 10 years.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist