How ready are Americans for autonomous vehicles?

As Brooklyn rolls out a fully autonomous fleet of vehicles at its Navy Yard, consumer confidence in self-driving cars is low across the nation according to newly published research by J.D. Power and Associates.

Most people in New York have likely heard about the rollout of a new shuttle operation that has been launched in Brooklyn. According to The Verge, the vehicles are all completely autonomous and make multiple round trips between the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the New York City ferry dock every day.

This use of self-driving vehicles logically makes people wonder how many more applications for autonomous cars will be coming soon. If consumer confidence is any indicator, it may be a while before this is common.

New study highlights consumer fears

J.D. Power and Associates is well-known as the giant in the world of measuring consumer satisfaction. The organization recently worked with Survey Monkey on a study that it intends to conduct every quarter. The focus is on consumers’ confidence in self-driving vehicles.

Automotive News reported that 55% of the study participants indicated they would not at all likely or not so likely to buy or to lease an autonomous vehicle. A mere 11% of respondents indicated that they would be extremely likely to take such an action. It was also noted that confidence did increase among people who were more knowledgeable about these vehicles.

The J.D. Power Mobility Confidence Index Study used a 100-point scale to measure confidence and ranked the confidence in autonomous vehicles a 34.

The reasons for concern among consumers varied with technology failures topping the list as 71% of people cited this as a fear. Another top worry was security and the ability of a hacker to access a vehicle’s computer system. Pedestrian and bicyclist safety also ranked high as concerns in the study.

Another issue highlighted in the study related to liability in the event of an accident.

The future of fully autonomous vehicle adoption remains uncertain

Autonomous vehicles come in multiple levels with some still allowing, and even requiring, human driver interaction. Forbes indicates that it may be more likely to see consumers willing to adopt some type of hybrid vehicle that allows some self-driving capabilities without completely replacing the human driver.

People in New York who wish to learn more about liability, safety and other topics related to self-driving vehicles on area roads should talk to an attorney who has experience in vehicle accidents.