Autovista Group Survey – What will be the biggest barrier to mass autonomous vehicle adoption?

01 June 2018

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With manufacturers finding their research and development of autonomous vehicles divided with electric technology, predictions as to when fully driverless cars will hit roads in Europe are varied.

However, alongside the need for development, regulations also need to be put in place, and with national governments having different levels of regulations on testing automation on their roads, issues with cross-border travelling could be found. One country may have different views to another, meaning an autonomous vehicle may have to stop self-driving as soon as it enters another country.

There are also business regulations, especially in the insurance sector, which need to be fleshed out. The question of who would be responsible in an accident, the vehicle or the driver, means a consensus around every company across Europe needs to be achieved, and this also needs to be agreed with carmakers who may find themselves responsible, and culpable, in an accident.

Finally, drivers themselves need to be convinced of new technologies. With a number of high profile accidents in the news recently, consumer confidence in autonomous technology, which was already rather low, has been knocked further.

Autovista Group wants to know which of these would cause the biggest barrier to mass adoption of autonomous vehicles. Will cross-border issues be more problematic than user awareness? Or will insurance questions stop people buying driverless vehicles?