AAA: No Thaw Yet in Consumer Fears about Robotic Cars

Seven in 10 Americans polled by insurance giant AAA are just as skeptical of fully autonomous vehicles as they were a year ago.

AAA, which favors self-driving technology because of its ability to reduce crashes, predicts more consumers will grow more accepting as they interact with the technology involved. The group notes that some such systems—driver-assist as blind-spot warning and adaptive cruise control, for example—are available now in many new models.

The survey does find reason for optimism. It reports that half its respondents say they would be comfortable with robotic vehicles, such as airport shuttles, that operate at low speed and for short distances. About two in five would be amenable to self-driving food and package delivery vehicles.

Still, slightly more than half of those polled by AAA optimistically predict that by 2029 most cars on the road will have the ability to drive themselves, at least under some conditions. AAA notes that experts believe fully autonomous vehicles that can function robotically under all driving situations are still decades away.