On the road to an automated future

Understanding is crucial to safe adoption

For Automated Driving to deliver societal benefits, motorists must understand what the technology can do, and how they should interact with it. Education is key.

To gauge motorists’ current understanding of Automated Driving, Thatcham Research commissioned its ‘Trust in Automation’ survey that polled 2,000 drivers in the UK and 2,000 road users in the US.

The results concluded that drivers believe we are further along the road to Automation that we are in reality, and that all stakeholders must come together to instil Trust in Automation.

Headline findings included:

Self-driving hype

• 52% of UK drivers wrongly believe they can buy a fully Automated car today. This number rose to 72% in the US
• This fundamental misunderstanding was more prevalent in younger age groups (77% of 17–24-year-olds) than it was among older UK motorists (41% of over 55s)

Drivers recognise benefits

• 73% of UK motorists see the benefits of Automated Driving technology, with 21% citing improved safety and 14% believing it could improve mobility for elderly or disabled motorists
• Few UK drivers saw freeing up time to work (3%), entertain themselves (3%) or sleep (2%) as advantages to Automation

Watching brief: Consumers need convincing

• 76% of UK drivers will keep their eyes on the road when the first cars with self-driving capabilities like Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS) are made available to them, despite the tech allowing them to take their eyes OFF the road
• 44% of UK respondents said they will wait for technology to mature before purchasing a car with self-driving capability
• 24% of those surveyed in the UK said they will completely avoid buying a car with self-driving capability