Women wary of self-driving cars: Survey

More than two thirds of adults are not ready to trust autonomous cars, according to a US poll commissioned by the Reuters news agency.

A survey of 2592 American adults found significant differences in the approach between genders and generations when asked whether they would be comfortable riding in a driverless vehicle.

It found men were more likely to trust a self-driving car then women, and that baby boomers were much more sceptical of autonomous vehicle technology than millennials.

Only 16 per cent of women said they would be comfortable in a self-driving car, compared to 38 per cent of men.

Similarly, 38 per cent of people born between 1982 and 2004 are comfortable with the idea of autonomous vehicles, while only 16 per cent of baby boomers could say the same.

Overall, just 27 per cent of people said they were would be comfortable with autonomous vehicles.

Most major car companies are actively pursuing autonomous technology, which is touted to reach Australian roads in the next five years.

An independent examination of autonomous vehicle expertise and production capabilities recently placed General Motors ahead of Google’s Waymo and Mercedes-Benz in the race to mass-produce self-driving cars.

A Mercedes-Benz development team visited Australia with the new S-Class sedan in 2017 to examine how emerging technology functions on local roads.