Two-thirds of drivers are ‘afraid’ of self-driving cars: study

A new study from the American Automobile Association (AAA) shows that two-thirds of drivers are afraid of self-driving cars, while 24 percent of respondents were unsure how they felt.

It is important to note that currently, there are no fully self-driving cars on the market. Consumers routinely believe there are cars that can drive themselves anywhere in any situation. This simply is not the case.

AAA conducted a study to see how drivers’ attitudes regarding self-driving cars have changed over time. They changed considerably in 2023 and 2024 compared to 2021 and 2022.

Data from the study shows that the number of respondents who said they were “afraid” of self-driving cars started at 54 percent in 2021 and then went up to 55 percent in 2022. However, there was a drastic increase in 2023, as this number increased to 68 percent before dropping to 66 percent this year.

Greg Brannon, AAA’s director of automotive research, said the firm was not expecting a dramatic decline in trust regarding self-driving cars.

“Although with the number of high-profile crashes that have occurred from over-reliance on current vehicle technologies, this isn’t entirely surprising,” he said.

The firm states that even though self-driving cars are becoming more reliable and there have been more advancements made, more needs to be done to “build public trust and knowledge surrounding emerging vehicle technology.” Companies involved in the development of self-driving vehicles also need to work to “dispel confusion around automated vehicles.”

AAA spokeswoman Adrienne Woodland said (via WLNS):

“The fears are mostly driven by numerous well-publicized incidents where drivers lost their lives in car crashes because they were led to believe their vehicle could drive itself. While there’s no vehicle on the road today that can safely drive itself, there are vehicle technologies that can improve driver safety, as long as the driver remains fully engaged while behind the wheel.”

There may also be confusion regarding the terms automakers use to describe their driver assistance programs. For example, the study showed that 22 percent of Americans expect driver assistance systems to have the ability to drive the car itself without any supervision due to names like ProPILOT, Pilot Assist, and Autopilot.

Brannon said more understanding and efforts to help the public gain comprehension of a vehicle’s capabilities are needed.

“AAA seeks to partner with automakers to create greater consistency across the industry. Together, we can help consumers understand the type of technology their vehicle has along with how, when, and where to use these systems, which will ultimately build trust in the vehicles of the future,” he said.

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