Even connected car owners have doubts about autonomous vehicles

April 25, 2018
Despite being early tech adopters, drivers of connected cars are not keen on making the shift to self-driving cars, according to a new survey from connected vehicle data technology specialist Solace. 

Despite being early tech adopters, drivers of connected cars are not keen on making the shift to self-driving cars, according to a new survey from connected vehicle data technology specialist Solace. More than half (57 percent) said they would not buy a self-driving car regardless of cost. 

“It seems every day there is a new story around a connected car development, or about how another major tech company is testing autonomous vehicle features. But it’s surprising to see that even with all these industry investments, consumers are still overall untrusting of ‘smart’ cars,” says Cameron Conaway, Director of Marketing Communications at Solace. “While it’s often assumed that the biggest barrier to adoption of autonomous vehicles is pricing, this survey data shows us that distrust of these cars is actually the leading factor.” 

The survey, conducted  between January 17 and 19, 2018, polled U.S. online consumers who identified as connected car drivers. 

Surprisingly, younger connected vehicle drivers were more skeptical of the technology than older drivers. Nearly half (46 percent) of respondents between ages of 18 and 25 would not trust their car to automatically react to driving conditions. Just one-third of drivers 65 or older held the same opinion. Exactly why that is was not clear from the research. 

“It’s speculation at this point, to be honest, but it could be because this particular age group is newer behind the wheel and therefore isn’t ready to give up the control they’re just getting the hang of,” Conaway says. “Or it could even be that they’re perhaps more in-tune to how far the technologies still have to come. Whatever the reason, our survey shot down the notion that millennials are ready to blindly adopt this new experience.” 

Respondents were particularly dubious of the safety of autonomous vehicles. Almost two-thirds (62 percent) of drivers believe they drive safer in connected cars, but would not trust a self-driving vehicle to make certain decisions. For example, 40 percent noted they wouldn't trust their car to brake for them.  

According to Conaway, OEMs will have to better educate the public using data on safety testing in order to overcome some of these fears. 

“Just five years ago, consumers were untrusting of safety features like back-up cameras or blind spot sensors — but car companies were relentless in proving that these technology features were critical to improving safety on the roads,” Conaway says. “That’s what this will take. And it’s not enough for car companies and the technology providers they work with to shout about cool new features; they must obsessively test and showcase why those new features create both easier and safer driving experiences.” 

Developing reliable technology will obviously be important as well, and that includes current connected car and advanced driver assistance technologies. “Before car companies can expect consumers to trust their car to brake or switch lanes, they must first ensure current technologies have rapid and nearly flawless response rates,” Conaway says. 

Current testing and experiments with self-driving vehicles, like what Uber is doing in Pittsburgh (the company is piloting a small fleet of autonomous vehicles with back-up drivers), can help showcase vehicle safety as well. “This is serving as a natural bridge to developing the trust necessary for the full-on autonomous experience, and, in this case, it’s also allowing Uber to collect immense amounts of data that will propel the self-driving car industry forward,” Conaway says. 

(These experiments are also going to have their share of set-backs – in February, one of the Uber vehicles was involved in a collision.) 

The study also uncovered some other interesting findings. For example, current connected vehicle drivers list safety and navigation as the most trusted features in current “smart” vehicles. Half of drivers are most likely to rely on safety sensors (like lane departure alerts, while 35 percent are most likely to rely on navigational driving prompts. One in four respondents also listed navigation as the most valuable connected feature, while 20 percent indicated safety monitors were the most valuable feature. 

Even relatively tech-savvy connected vehicle owners are unaware that their vehicles are generating large amount of data, or where that data is going. Solace found that 48 percent of respondents weren’t aware that their vehicle “could store their personal data, such as their home address, social security number, birthday, etc.”

Data issues have grown increasingly important both in terms of privacy legislation, and among the automotive aftermarket where ownership of vehicle and driver data will play an important part in determining who has access to vehicle telematics information. Based on the Solace data, both OEMS and the aftermarket will need to do a lot of work to educate consumers about the type of data connected vehicles are exposing. 

Conaway says that security concerns about that data could slow adoption of connected and self-driving vehicle technologies.

“Car companies must ensure they are investing in the right data protection technologies that keep users safe. On top of trusting vehicles to actually drive safely, data ethics and privacy are key factors that will impact consumer adoption of self-driving cars,” Conaway says. “During a time when cyberattacks are on the rise, and consumers are increasingly concerned with what businesses are doing with their data, the success of self-driving cars is dependent on how secure they are. Consumer awareness around mobile data is rising, but most of us are still in the nascent stage of understanding what’s happening with our connected car data.” 

You can read the survey findings at solace.com/research-connected-car-drivers


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