MALVERN, Pa.— According to a new report from the Insurance Research Council (IRC), more than one-in-three adults countrywide would likely forego owning or leasing a personal vehicle if self-driving vehicles operated by transportation network companies, such as Uber and Lyft, were available to them. More than half of those surveyed also said they would be interested in owning or leasing their own selfdriving vehicle if it was demonstrated that the vehicles were at least as safe as driving is today. The survey found that about two-thirds of all adult drivers believe that self-driving vehicles will become as safe as or safer than driving is today, but fewer than half expect to ride in a self-driving vehicle sometime in their lifetime.
Surveyed approximately one-month after the fatal and widely-publicized crash of an Uber-operated autonomous vehicle in Tempe, Arizona, almost two-thirds of those who had seen news about the accident said that it negatively affected their opinions about self-driving vehicles, and more than half thought that such news about accidents involving self-driving vehicles would significantly slow their introduction and use.
“These findings confirm strong public interest in self-driving vehicles, but highlight the concerns that many drivers have about their safety,” said Elizabeth Sprinkel, CPCU, senior vice president of the IRC. “If some accidents are inevitable, then it is important to understand how the transition to autonomous driving may be affected by public concerns about safety.”
The report, Autonomous Vehicles and Transportation Network Companies, Public Attitudes and Opinions, is based on an online survey conducted by Survey Sampling International, Inc. on behalf of the IRC. A total of 2,004 online interviews were conducted in April 2018. Survey data were weighted to the U.S. population of adults aged 18 and above. For more detailed information on the study’s methodology and findings, email at IRC@TheInstitutes.org. Visit IRC’s website, www.insurance-research.org, for information about purchasing a copy of the report.
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IRC_AV_OCT2018_NR.pdf (149.51 KB)