Nearly Half of Drivers Prefer No Self-Driving Features in Their Vehicles

A recent study has found that nearly half of drivers prefer to not have any self-driving features in their vehicles.

University of Michigan researchers Brandon Schoettle and Michael Sivak surveyed 618 drivers on their preferences of both partially and completely self-driving vehicles, as well as overall preferences for having self-driving versus conventional vehicles. The survey was performed in April 2016 and targeted licensed drivers 18 years and older.

The first question of the survey asked, “Vehicle manufacturers are considering using one of three levels of automation in future vehicles. Which level would you prefer to have in your personal vehicle?” The results are a bit telling about people’s skepticism about self-driving technology, with 45.8 percent of respondents saying they prefer no self-driving. That was followed by 37.8 percent saying they preferred partial self-driving, while completely self-driving was the least preferred at 15.5 percent.

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The survey then asked two different questions to gauge how concerned respondents would be about riding in a completely self-driving vehicle and a partially self-driving vehicle. Those surveyed were more concerned about riding in a completely self-driving vehicle than in a partially self-driving vehicle, with 37.2 percent saying they were very concerned about riding in a completely self-driving vehicle. Only 17 percent were concerned for a partially self-driving vehicle and 9.7 percent were not at all concerned with riding in a completely self-driving vehicle, as opposed to 16.5 percent for a partially self-driving vehicle.

Although it will be hard to avoid self-driving features in future cars, nearly all of the respondents (94.5 percent) said they would want to have a steering wheel plus accelerator and brake pedals or some other controls available.