A recent survey has found that more than six in every ten UK motorists are afraid of driverless cars.
In its annual Report on Motoring, the RAC quizzed 1,714 British drivers on subject matters including driverless cars. As many as 62 per cent of the respondents said they were scared by the thought of driverless cars on public roads.
Also, 66 per cent of the respondents expressed their concern over the chances of driverless cars being hacked, while 70 per cent said they feared about the reliability of the software used in such vehicles.
Only 27 per cent of the respondents said that they believe autonomous cars will make our roads safer. On a more positive note though, 62 per cent from the same survey agreed that such cars would improve mobility for the elderly and disabled people.
Driverless cars predicted to go on sale in the 2020s
Even though many seem to be worried about the prospect of driverless cars becoming mainstream, a substantial amount surveyed by the RAC expect them to become widely accessible soon.
34 per cent of respondents to the survey said they expected fully autonomous cars to become available to buy within the 2020s. 21 per cent believe driverless cars will outnumber conventional cars by 2040.
The chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Mike Hawes, gave his reaction to this survey. He said: “This just shows what needs to be done in terms of changing people’s views, but it is worth pointing out that few people have qualms about jumping on a plane, which is flown – at least part of the way – autonomously.”
