Autonomous Cars Don’t Necessarily Have the Vote of Confidence

The more familiar people become with self-driving car technology, the less likely they are to trust it, according to a new mobility study from Cox Automotive. The share of drivers who think roads would be safer with fully autonomous vehicles has dropped to 45 percent, down 18 percent since the survey of 1,250 respondents was last taken in 2016. “As awareness around the development of autonomous technology increases, we’re seeing some dramatic shifts in consumer sentiment,” Karl Brauer, executive publisher of Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book, said in a statement. “People now have a deeper understanding of the complexities involved when creating a self-driving car, and that has them reconsidering their comfort level when it comes to handing over control.” So, in this case, knowledge isn’t necessarily power.

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