Hyperdrive
Fear of Robot Rides Rises Following High-Profile Road Deaths
- Almost three-quarters of Americans afraid of self-driving cars
- AAA survey shows sharpest surge in anxiety among millennials
This article is for subscribers only.
Consumer trust in self-driving cars has plummeted following high-profile roadway fatalities, with almost three-quarters of Americans now saying they are too afraid to ride in an autonomous vehicle, according to a new survey.
The survey by the American Automobile Association shows faith in robot rides has been shaken by two March incidents: A pedestrian in Arizona struck and killed by an Uber self-driving car and a fatality involving a Tesla Model X operating in semi-autonomous “Autopilot” mode. The fear-factor reported by 73 percent of those polled last month was up 10 points from late 2017 and nearly erased gains from the 78 percent afraid of automated cars early last year.