Over half in UK not ready for autonomous vehicles
But public trials are building trust
Project Endeavour
LastAugust, the practical element of Project Endeavour concluded in London, with 70 members of the public taking part in on-road demonstrations.
Over the course of two weeks, the Oxbotica vehicles were tested, with participants’ perceptions of AV safety analysed by consortium partner DG Cities.
The trials were run in conjunction with the London Borough of Greenwich, and followed previous events in Oxford and Birmingham.
DG Cities says the on-road demonstrations have shown the value of live public trials in building trust.
Before the live trials, 68.3 percent of participants agreed that AVs would be safer than human-driven vehicles, and after, 83.6 percent agreed.
Different perspectives
During the on-road demonstrations, the AVs completed a five-mile urban route around Greenwich streets, giving partners the opportunity to model the complex and busy network and exposing the vehicle to varied traffic and weather conditions.
Participants were accompanied by two members of the trial team, and the public were also offered a virtual reality experience to explore what it’s like to be in an AV as it moves through a typical urban setting.
“One of the key takeaways from Project Endeavour is the importance of understanding a range of different perspectives, not just looking at headline trends,” said Trevor Dorling, Managing Director, DG Cities.
“It was hugely valuable to hear a diverse community of citizens throughout the trial, including people with specific, more complex mobility needs.”
Age was found to be a significant factor in the nationwide survey, with over a third (34.8 percent) of respondents aged 18-35 agreeing they would be ‘confident using an AV tomorrow’, compared to a fifth (20.5 percent) of those aged 55 and over.
Story byCities Today
Cities Today is the leading news platform on urban mobility and innovation, reaching an international audience of city leaders.Cities Today is the leading news platform on urban mobility and innovation, reaching an international audience of city leaders.
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