Americans still don't trust self-driving cars, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

[FrodosNewPet]

Americans still don't trust self-driving cars, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-selfdriving-poll/americans-still-dont-trust-self-driving-cars-reuters-ipsos-poll-finds-idUSKCN1RD2QS

Paul Lienert, Maria Caspani - APRIL 1, 2019 / 11:59 AM

(Reuters) - Half of U.S. adults think automated vehicles are more dangerous than traditional vehicles operated by people, while nearly two-thirds said they would not buy a fully autonomous vehicle, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll.

In the same poll, about 63 percent of those who responded said they would not pay more to have a self-driving feature on their vehicle, and 41 percent of the rest said they would not pay more than $2,000.

The poll results outline the challenges that face car and truck makers, delivery companies, technology companies and ride services operators such as Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc. All are plowing capital into developing self-driving vehicles and related hardware. Developers of the technology are making progress, but polls indicate the industry’s efforts to build public trust and commercial demand lag behind.

The findings are similar to those in a 2018 Reuters/Ipsos poll. They are consistent with results in surveys by Pew Research Center, the American Automobile Association and others. In March 2018, after the 2018 Reuters/Ipsos poll, an Uber vehicle operating in self-driving mode struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona.

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This technology has some wonderful safety and mobility enhancement potential. But the Federal government, particularly after the 737 MAX debacle, has to step up, setting safety and interoperability standards and enforcement.

[fescuerescue]

1. 99.9 of Americans have been been in a self-driving car.

RIght now our trust is based on what the media reports, plus the personal opinion of how good the technology is.

Im looking forward to trying one out. I don't trust the media to give me my opinion of anything technology related (well anything actually)

FWIW, my current pickup truck has auto-throttle and auto-lane keeping capability. It's amazing how well it works (although this is very very very basic)

[FrodosNewPet]

2. They've been in driver assist cars, not self-driving

There is a HUGE jump in functionality required for vehicles to be free of human control in a wide range of locations and conditions. Will it eventually happen? Yes. But it takes some extreme computing horsepower and some resilient, reliable sensors which are going to take a lot more research and debugging to become widely available before they can make any more than a niche impact.

[C_U_L8R]

3. I trust self-driving cars

I just don’t trust human drivers. And a world of mixed-driver cars sounds like mayhem. If all cars were self driving it would be so easy.

[FrodosNewPet]

6. Perhaps someday, yes

But not yet.

[customerserviceguy]

9. I'm certain

that today's technoiogy in the self-driving car field is a great improvement over the average driver I was surrounded by when I lived in NY and worked in NJ.

I'm hoping that they will be affordable in another ten years, when my ability to drive may be somewhat lessened.

[MustLoveBeagles]

4. I wouldn't trust any vehicle that didn't have a manual override

[Little Star]

5. I am one of those Americans.......

I like being in control when I drive. If I need a break I can pull over or give the wheel to another human.

I will never own a self-driving car nor do I want to.

[Cold War Spook]

7. Is there anyone here who has never had his or her computer crash?

If yes, tell us how long you have had that computer. My wife asked me if I was going to get a new car. I asked her why, my car only has 143,000 miles on it.

[FrodosNewPet]

11. OCR and Voice Recognition

Those have been around for decades and still have high error rates.

A car dealing with millions of different objects, in different lighting and shadow conditions, with a huge variety of poises. The car is travelling at 88 feet per second (60 MPH). It not only has to recognize what potential hazard objects present several seconds down the line, it has to make a wise decision on whether to steer for avoidance, break gently, or risk injury to passengers by breaking hard.

And it has about 50 to 100 milliseconds to understand the situation it is in, and will be in on the current preferred path, and make the proper control adjustments to acceleration, braking, and steering. Preferably in a way that does not cause whiplash or motion sickness.

[OhZone]

8. One glitch or hack and you're dead.

No thanks.

BTW, this is a chick who drives stick and a HOG too.

[gulliver]

10. This will never happen until there is strong AI

80% of what humans do driving is moderately easy to program. 10% is very difficult. The remaining 10% is essentially impossible for humans to develop.