Google released new details regarding its driverless car initiative earlier this week. The new models don’t feature steering wheels or brakes because the company says the cars simply don’t need them. The concept of driverless cars isn’t entirely new, but hasn’t been widely accepted yet either. What do consumers think about the concept of driverless cars?
Driverless Cars
In Ask Your Target Market’s latest survey, 23% of respondents said they would definitely be interested in riding in a driverless car at some point. 30% said they would probably be interested in riding in a driverless car. 30% said they probably wouldn’t be interested. And just 16% said they would definitely not be interested.
Safety Issues
But even though the car has definitely captured people’s interest, some have already begun expressing concerns about safety. And just 12% of respondents said they would definitely feel safe in a car that drives and navigates itself. 34% said they would probably feel safe in a driverless car. 36% said they probably would not feel safe. And 18% said they would definitely not feel safe in a car that drives and navigates itself.
Growing Acceptance
Safety concerns aside, driverless cars definitely make up a growing industry. But just how fast do people expect these cars to catch on in the marketplace? Just 11% of respondents said they definitely expect driverless cars to be widely used within the next 5 years. 23% said they will probably become widely used in the next 5 years. 48% said they don’t really expect driverless cars to become widely used within the next 5 years. And 19% said they definitely won’t. You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.Photo Credit: google-driverless-cali from FlickrWhat do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.
Results were collected on May 29 via AYTM’s online survey panel.