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NW residents still hesitant to trust driverless cars

October 20, 2022 by PEMCO Insurance

According to the latest 2022 PEMCO Insurance Northwest Poll, as more vehicle safety technology has become standard in new and used vehicles, drivers’ trust in those features has increased, as well. However, when it comes to advances in autonomous vehicles, most Northwest residents admit that they’re not ready to jump into the passenger seat of a driverless car quite yet. Are you interested in owning a driverless car? Do you trust autonomous vehicles to safely navigate the road?

Some vehicles manufactured in the last decade or so have updated safety features that are designed to reduce the number of accidents and increase safety for drivers and passengers. For each of the following safety features, please mark whether the vehicle you currently drive most often has that feature.

June 2016  
Portland Portland  
36 25 Brake Assist
53 23 Back-up Camera
31 16 Blind Spot Warning
30 11 Forward Collision Avoidance

For each of the following safety features, please mark whether the vehicle you currently drive most often has that feature.

Portland Metro  
55 + 55 +  
20 23 Brake Assist
50 50 Back-up Camera
26 25 Blind Spot Warning
23 20 Forward Collision Avoidance

For each of the following safety features, please mark whether the vehicle you currently drive most often has that feature.

Portland Metro  
Rent Rent  
32 31 Brake Assist
41 44 Back-up Camera
26 21 Blind Spot Warning
24 18 Forward Collision Avoidance

For each of the following safety features, please mark whether the vehicle you currently drive most often has that feature.

Portland Metro  
No Children No Children  
26 25 Brake Assist
46 47 Back-up Camera
27 26 Blind Spot Warning
23 21 Forward Collision Avoidance

For each of the following safety features, please mark whether the vehicle you currently drive most often has that feature.

Portland Metro  
$50k + $50k +  
45 40 Brake Assist
64 65 Back-up Camera
44 40 Blind Spot Warning
40 40 Forward Collision Avoidance

Whether or not you have or rely on any of these newer safety features, how much do you trust that these features will do an outstanding job of improving safety for all drivers on the road?

June 2016  
Portland Portland  
16 13 I completely trust them
43 25 I mostly trust them
23 31 I trust them sometimes
10 19 I only trust them a little bit
4 5 I don’t trust them at all

Whether or not you have or rely on any of these newer safety features, how much do you trust that these features will do an outstanding job of improving safety for all drivers on the road?

Portland Metro  
No Features No Features  
7 9 I completely trust them
34 41 I mostly trust them
20 21 I trust them sometimes
18 14 I only trust them a little bit
5 7 I don’t trust them at all

How many years do you think it will be before these driverless vehicles are sold and allowed on a majority of city streets and state highways, even if a human operator is required so they can intervene if necessary?

June 2016  
Portland Portland  
17 0 They are allowed on city streets and state highways now
7 3 They will be allowed within the next year
23 21 They will be allowed after one year from now but within 5 years
18 31 They will be allowed after 5 years but within 10
8 21 They will be allowed after 10 years but within 15
4 15 Not for at least 15 years

Right now, assuming price was not an issue, and it was legal, how interested would you be in owning a driverless vehicle for your own use?

June 2016  
Portland Portland  
19 15 Extremely interested
13 18 Very interested
21 22 Somewhat interested
21 18 Not too interested
26 26 Not at all interested

Right now, assuming price was not an issue, and it was legal, how interested would you be in owning a driverless vehicle for your own use?

Portland Metro  
Female Female  
17 12 Extremely interested
13 11 Very interested
23 25 Somewhat interested
19 20 Not too interested
27 31 Not at all interested

Right now, assuming price was not an issue, and it was legal, how interested would you be in owning a driverless vehicle for your own use?

Portland Metro  
55 + 55 +  
5 9 Extremely interested
11 5 Very interested
18 22 Somewhat interested
27 22 Not too interested
40 41 Not at all interested

Right now, how concerned are you about the safety associated with sharing streets and roads with driverless vehicles?

Portland Metro  
24 Extremely concerned
24 Very concerned
34 Somewhat concerned
11 Not too concerned
6 Not at all concerned

Assuming the goal was to provide the safest environment possible, do you think that we’d be better off if vehicle manufacturers invested more money in updating and improving safety features or updating, improving, manufacturing, and selling driverless vehicles?

Portland Metro  
74 Updating and improving safety features
17 Updating, improving, manufacturing, and selling driverless vehicles

About the PEMCO Insurance Northwest Poll

PEMCO Mutual Insurance commissioned this independent survey, conducted by FBK Research of Seattle, that asked Washington and Oregon residents questions about driving habits and attitudes toward current Northwest issues. The sample size, 420 respondents in the Seattle Metro (King, Snohomish, Pierce Counties) region and 418 respondents in the Portland Metro (Multnomah, Marion, Clackamas, Washington Counties) region yields an accuracy of +/- 5.0% respectively at the 95% confidence level. In other words, if this study were conducted 100 times, in 95 instances the data will not vary by more than the associated error range.

Supplemental interviews were conducted with people living in the Seattle metro area, including King, Snohomish and Pierce counties, and those in the Portland metro area, including Clackamas, Marion, Multnomah and Washington counties. The sample size, 578 respondents in the Seattle area and 509 in the Portland area, yields an accuracy of +/- 4.2% and +/- 4.4% respectively at the 95% confidence level.

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