Survey: Car drivers don't want fully-autonomous cars just yet

The survey shows that there is still some resistance among people toward full autonomy, especially a few features.

While automakers are working on introducing fully-autonomous cars for the future, a recent survey has shown that drivers still prefer to drive their cars.

According to a nationwide survey conducted by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS), people are fine with some autonomy but still want overall control of their vehicles. The survey shows that there is still some resistance among people toward full autonomy, especially a few features.

As per the survey, 80% of the respondents liked the lane keep assist feature, but 36% wanted a hands-on approach, compared to 27% who wanted full autonomy with the feature. Drivers also preferred to change lanes themselves, rather than having the car do it autonomously. 45% of the respondents agreed they would want to change lanes themselves, compared to just 14% who wanted it to be an autonomous feature.

The survey also stated that most drivers are comfortable with having driver-monitoring strategies, including sensors on the steering wheel or a driver-facing camera to track head, eye and hand movement. This was accepted by most respondents irrespective of whether or not the feature allowed hands-free operation. However, among the two, the steering sensor monitoring feature was met with more enthusiasm, as camera-based monitoring raised concerns about privacy. Having said that, the respondents stated that these monitoring strategies would help prevent drivers from misusing the technology.

Source: IIHS