This is one of the key findings from a study on perceptions of autonomous vehicles carried out by FSEG of the University of Greenwich as part of the UK GATEway (Greenwich Automated Transport Environment) project.

Funded by Innovate UK and industry, the £8 million project aims to demonstrate the safe and efficient integration of sophisticated automated transport systems into complex real world smart city environments.

The study surveyed public perceptions of autonomous cars (AC), focusing on the perceived risk of collision and injury for those travelling in them and those on foot, and on general attitudes towards such vehicles, reflecting acceptance or objection to them being used on public roads.

By removing the need for a driver, autonomous vehicles are expected to reduce the number of collisions resulting from human driving error and improve road safety. Some surveys have been conducted in recent years on the public’s perception of AC, but these have typically focused on people as passengers of such vehicles. Perceptions from an external point of view, for example, as pedestrians in an area with AC, have received little attention to date. Likewise, there has been little attempt to compare perceptions of AC with perceptions of other vehicles – automated and non-automated – currently on the road.

The survey compares respondents’ perceptions in relation to: road users (ie, pedestrians as well as occupants of both human-operated and AV); risk (taking and perception of); and participant gender and age.

The study surveyed 916 participants on their perceptions, particularly as regard to safety and acceptance of AV. As males were over-represented and females under-represented in the sample, compared to the UK population, the data was weighted accordingly.

Road-user type a factor in risk perception of automated cars
The results revealed that compared to human-operated cars, AC were seen as riskier when a passenger, and less risky when a pedestrian.

Gender, age and risk-taking had varied relationships with the perceived risk of different vehicle types and general attitudes towards AC; for instance, males and younger adults displayed greater acceptance.

Adoption of this autonomous technology would seem societally beneficial – owing to these groups’ greater propensity for taking risks on the roads and their behaviours linked with poorer road safety. The unweighted data, however, suggested that participants who were more likely to take road user risks were also more likely to have a negative attitude towards AC. When the data was weighted to enhance the sample’s representativeness of the UK population, this result was no longer statistically significant. Nevertheless, further research is necessary to determine whether the major selling point of AC – safer driving – might prove to reduce their appeal to the very individuals whose use of them would most benefit other road users.

The study pointed out that as members of the public will likely be both drivers or passengers, and pedestrians – with the safety of both being imperative – companies will have to find ways to appeal to both groups to achieve a satisfactory integration of these vehicles in urban environments.

More people positive than negative about AC
When looking at attitudes, either from the sample overall or across variables such as gender and driver status, participants who opposed AC were very much in the minority; 10 per cent or less had a negative or conditionally negative attitude towards AC while around four to five times more participants expressed acceptance (positive or conditionally positive attitude) of AC. A sizeable number of participants (46 per cent of the overall sample) are nevertheless yet to be convinced one way or the other.

Safety concerns were also expressed on other issues; for example, cybercrime, computer viruses and hacking were also frequently expressed, underlining that this is not simply a challenge of improving transportation safety but improving systems more widely.

The findings indicate that many people are currently receptive to the concept of AC but there is still work to be done. Moreover, the detection of significant relationships between perceived risk ratings or attitudes and various factors, including road user populations, gender and age, highlight that perceptions towards AC are multi-faceted.