RAC Report on Motoring 2016

RAC Report on Motoring 2016

5.0 The car of the future

In terms of other potential benefits, only a third (33%) of all motorists think that the adoption of driverless technology will be better for the environment and even fewer (28%) expect autonomous vehicles to ease the severity of traffic jams. However, a significant proportion of motorists questioned on these two topics said they were unsure as to what effects driverless cars would actually have. Just one in five (21%) think driverless technology will lead to shorter journey times against 35% who do not and a further 35% who are not sure. A third of people (34%) think fewer people will use public transport when driverless cars are common (against 22% who disagree with this assertion) and 31% think fewer people will own their own car when driverless vehicles enter the mainstream (against 23% who don’t).

The Government aspires for the UK to be a leader in connected and autonomous vehicles and for the economy to benefit from them. A successful home market for such vehicles requires potential purchasers who are well informed, understand the user benefits, and are enthusiastic about the prospect of having a driverless car at their disposal. The number of those who responded to this series of questions by saying that they did not know the answer suggests that in parallel with the technology and legislative programmes needed to pave the way for driverless cars, there is a need for a communications programme that informs and enthuses the motoring public.

“The fact that most motorists don’t think that driverless cars will make roads safer and won’t even have an impact on congestion is driven either by scepticism over what autonomous vehicles have to offer, or by a lack of understanding.” DARYL LLOYD Head of Road Safety Statistics Department for Transport

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