UK public want self-driving cars to be labelled

driverless vehicle - Nearly nine out of 10 (86%) people in the UK want self-driving vehicles to be labelled so they can be clearly distinguished from human-driven vehicles, according to a major new survey led by UCL researchers. The research team surveyed 4,860 members of the British public in late 2021 about their attitudes to self-driving vehicles. The questions were created following interviews with 50 experts involved in developing the technology. The researchers found that, while experts tended to downplay concerns about self-driving vehicles, members of the public were more sceptical. This scepticism, the researchers said, would not be resolved with better public understanding of the technology, but reflected real uncertainties that developers needed to address. Most survey respondents were uncomfortable with the idea of using self-driving vehicles (58%) or sharing the road with them (55%) - a trend that has remained consistent over five years of public surveys. Professor Jack Stilgoe (UCL Science & Technology Studies), who led the project, said: "Self-driving vehicles are often hyped as heralding a new transport revolution, but if they are to become a useful technology, the world will need to adapt to support their use, with new rules of the road and new infrastructure.