Consumers Continue to Mistrust Autonomous Vehicles

Two-thirds of U.S. consumers said self-driving cars should be held to higher government safety standards than traditional vehicles driven by people, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The findings indicate that Americans remain skeptical about autonomous vehicle technology, which is consistent with results of surveys conducted by AAA and Pew Research Center, notes Reuters.

In the Reuters/Ipsos survey, more than 50% of respondents said they believe automated vehicles are more dangerous than regular cars operated by humans.

The findings also indicate that the public is unwilling to invest heavily in self-driving cars anytime soon.

While approximately 25% said they would buy a fully autonomous vehicle, approximately 66% said they would not. About 63% of respondents said they would not pay more to have a self-driving feature on their vehicle, and 41% of the remaining respondents said they would not pay more than $2,000.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll surveyed 2,222 people online across the nation.