Rethinking Autonomous Vehicles

Nearly three-quarters of Americans are afraid to ride in self-driving cars, according to the latest survey by the American Automobile Association. There is bad news ahead for the many automobile and technology companies currently developing, and road-testing, self-driving cars: many people are too frightened to ride in driverless vehicles. The American Automobile Association (AAA) May consumer trust survey on autonomous vehicles (AVs) found that 73% of U.S. citizens now fear traveling in an AV, compared with 63% just six months before. In addition, the survey found that two-thirds of millennials--a supposedly tech-loving generation--are also too fearful to ride in self-driving cars. The AAA even has unwelcome news from pedestrians and cyclists, with nearly two-thirds saying they don't trust AVs enough to use roads and sidewalks alongside them.