Half of Australians don’t trust self-driving cars, poll claims

Almost half of Australians don’t trust autonomous cars, according to a new survey.

The research, carried out by Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, surveyed 562 people about their feelings towards self-driving vehicles – with 53 per cent saying they were not in favour or unsure.

While the remaining 47 per cent said they liked the idea of such technology as a travel option, 74 per cent still felt that humans should be able to control the vehicle themselves if need be.

Sixty-two per cent of those people said they’d feel “stressed” if they did not have the option of driving the vehicles themselves, and 55 per cent thought it was “unsafe” for children to travel in autonomous cars without an adult.

Around 80 per cent of respondents also said they were concerned about the legal and financial ramifications in the event of a malfunction or crash.

In recent years there have been no end of reports on autonomous vehicles coming to strife worldwide, including – but not limited to – Tesla’s so-called 'Full Self Driving' technology. 

At the weekend, CEO Elon Musk revealed plans for Tesla to unveil its new 'robotaxi' – an autonomous compact car without a steering wheel or pedals – in August this year.

No other details were announced in Musk's post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) – which he owns – however the futuristic autonomous Tesla is expected to use a "next-generation" architecture and assembly line promising much lower production costs.

It follows hours after a report from respected news agency Reuters claiming the US electric-car giant has scrapped plans for a conventional sibling to the robotaxi – with a steering wheel and pedals – due in late 2025.

More locally, last year Drive exclusively revealed that mainstream autonomous vehicle use could be one step closer in Australia following the conclusion of a discreet, government-backed testing program on public roads.

A driverless Ford Ranger was quietly traversing the streets of Dubbo in regional New South Wales collecting data as part of the Transport NSW trial.

Following a pre-mapped route at speeds of up to 50km/h, the ute uses retrofitted lidar, radar, cameras, and a drive-by-wire steering system. 

“This successful trial has paved the way for future on-road automated vehicle technology testing in NSW, and insights gained from the trial will guide and streamline future projects,” a spokesperson for Transport NSW told Drive at the time.