A majority of respondents say they don’t believe self-driving cars will become a regular part of everyday life—ever.
That’s according to the latest unscientific poll at SharylAttkisson.com.
Sixty-eight percent (68%) say they don’t think self-driving cars will ever become commonplace.
A much smaller number—about one in four—say it might happen within ten years.
Specifically, twenty-five percent (25%) say most people will be riding in self-driving cars within the next decade.
Just seven percent (7%) think it’ll happen within five years.
Taken together, the results suggest broad skepticism about the timeline—or even the feasibility—of a driverless future.
Full results are below. Be sure to answer the newest poll at SharylAttkisson.com. Look for the black box on the right sidebar on your computer or scroll way down on your mobile device.
Poll Question: When will most people be riding in self-driving cars?
7% 5 yrs
25% 10 yrs
68% Never
One hundred and twenty years ago, these same people probably would have said that electricity and cars would never become a part of everyday life. My friend just rode his Tesla from Sacramento to Vancouver – no hitches whatsoever. He also drove to San Francisco, almost completely hands-off (except for one parking incident, which he ironically nudged another car!). Any self-driving vehicle that can manage San Francisco has my stamp of approval. I could barely manage it hands-on!
I’m more inclined to think self driving cars will never happen here in the US. Maybe in a polite society where everybody’s forced to get along they could pull it off, but not here.
As a nation, we are unlikely to spend the horrific amount of money to develop our road infrastructure to a level consistent with self driving cars. I recently purchased a Ford F-150 which included Ford’s version of self-driving.
That system frequently lost track of the road on a well-maintained interstate highway. How is the system going to work in my neighborhood where there are few decent quality markings. Using GPS to find the vehicle’s location is too inaccurate (+/- 3 feet) to maintain position in a lane. The GPS system is also to slow for a vehicle traveling at 88 feet per second.