A report on expectations and concerns of connected and automated driving by the EC

The European Commission has published its special Eurobarometer 496 report on “Expectation and concerns of connected and automated driving”. The purpose of this report is to measure public awareness and attitudes towards connected and automated driving considering their role in the European strategy to improve road transport in terms of safety and efficiency which is laid down in the European Green Deal and the 2018 Communication from the EC “On the road to automated mobility: An EU strategy for mobility of the future”.

In this regard, a survey was conducted across 28 Member States of EU, between 11 and 29 September 2019 to get to know EU citizens views on automated and connected vehicles, and how comfortable they would feel with such vehicles being part of their daily life. A total of 27,656 respondents were interviewed.

The surveys main objectives are:

• Evaluate EU citizens awareness of automated vehicles and their experience with automated or semi automated driving functions.
• Measure attitudes towards driving in or interacting with automated vehicles on the road.
• Assess citizens’ willingness to purchase and use automated vehicles.
• Understand what citizens expect with regard to automated vehicles.

The report concludes that six in ten of the respondents have read, heard or seen something about automated vehicles in the past 12 months. A majority of surveyed felt comfortable in automated vehicles that are supervised by human operator in it. Many respondents were not comfortable in the presence of fully automated vehicles on the roads and also majority were not comfortable to share their data with private companies or other road users, but they are are willing to share it with public authorities. It appeared that most respondents are not prepared to use automated and connected vehicles even if they were given an opportunity.

To know the results and read the full report, click here.

Picture: EUCAR ©