Study: Consumers tap brakes on self-driving car tech

DETROIT -- Automakers have been rushing to develop self-driving technologies, but some consumers might be ready to tap the brakes.

The J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Tech Choice Study shows an increased wariness of fully self-driving technology since last year even as consumers continue to want technology that assists drivers.

The study highlights a risk that concerns automakers — the negative impression that high-profile but isolated accidents can have on the perceived safety of driverless cars. And yet, both J.D. Power researchers and industry experts say consumers will eventually come around.

“The engineering will get there. Can we take consumers with us? Can we kind of ferry them over this river of doubt and mistrust and fear and, frankly, lack of understanding and get them to the other side?" asked Dave Sargent, vice president of global automotive at J.D. Power. "I think we can. The winners are going to be the folks who can do that the best."

But the industry has a lot of work to do to get to that point. Each generational group except Generation Y — those now roughly age 25 to 40 — has become more skeptical of the technology, according to the study, which weighed awareness and interest from consumers in emerging and future vehicle technology.

The study shows trust in the technology declining among some groups.

The study found that, compared with last year, 11% more Millennials — teenagers and twentysomethings — and 9% of seniors older than about 70 definitely would not trust fully self-driving technology. Forty percent of Baby Boomers see no benefit from self-driving vehicles, even as the technology is envisioned as a way to reduce the tens of thousands of annual crash fatalities. The possibility of technological failures in the technology appeared to be a key concern for some groups.

The study, which is in its third year, surveyed 8,500 consumers who purchased or leased a new vehicle over the last five years.

The study’s findings are similar to an AAA survey that found three-quarters of adults in a sample in January would be afraid to ride in a self-driving car although most — six in 10 — want some autonomous technology in their next vehicle.

Kristin Kolodge, executive director of driver interaction and HMI research at J.D. Power, noted one possible reason for the decline in trust, that automated driving has become a news topic.

Several consumers mentioned last year’s fatal crash in Florida involving a Tesla Model S in Autopilot mode. In that case, which took the life of a Canton, Ohio, man, the car’s cameras “failed to distinguish the white side of a turning tractor-trailer from a brightly lit sky,” according to reports.

Consumers may simply be more familiar with autonomous driving technology.

They may be thinking, “This is really coming. This isn’t a lab experiment anymore,” Kolodge said.

For automakers, building trust is key to expanding interest in automation, Kolodge said. Automakers and tech companies will need to focus on making the consumer’s initial experience positive. Making sure the technology works in the various types of driver assistance technology will be the “baby steps” to build trust toward the next level of automation.

Last week, both technology and automotive industry executives who spoke last week at a traffic safety symposium expressed concern that extensive media coverage of accidents involving self-driving cars could turn some people against the technology before they even experience it.

Niki Christoff, head of government relations and corporate communications, said Millenials tend to be the most open to self-driving cars while baby boomers are the most apprehensive. But she predicts that will change.

"The boomers who are most afraid are likely to be the most eager to get into a self-driving vehicle as soon as they need assistance getting around," she said.

Both Kolodge and Sargent,predicted that a massive change is coming to how the public uses automobiles, incorporating everything from ride-hailing to purchasing access to a fleet.

"The winners are going to be the folks who can do that the best,” Sargent said