RAC Report on Motoring 2016

Nick Walker, RAC Telematics Managing Director said >

“With the prospect of driverless cars being commonplace some way off it would be

wrong to ignore the immediate benefits of the connected car and the ability to offer

drivers and fleet managers the ability to optimise their vehicle’s operation, economy

and maintenance.

The RAC is at the forefront of developing the technological solutions to work with the

multiplicity of motor manufacturers’ software and engine management systems to

deliver tangible benefits in terms of safety, convenience and cost savings for business

customers and this technology will soon be available for private drivers.”

5.0

The car of the future

While there has been a significant

degree of news coverage both of

these plans and of pilot schemes

for fully autonomous vehicles

currently underway in the United

States, the 2016 Report on Motoring

found that UK drivers are far less

bullish when it comes to

predictions of when such vehicles

will actually appear on our roads.

Less than a quarter (24%) of

motorists think that the first

driverless cars will be available

for consumers to buy before

the end of the current decade.

A third (34%) expect them to hit

the market in the 2020s while a

further 14% think such vehicles

won’t be available until between

2030 and 2050.

On average, drivers think that 2029

is when driverless cars will first

become available in showrooms to

buy – and a small minority (6%)

think we will never see them on

our roads.

The Report also asked motorists

when they expect driverless

vehicles to outnumber conventional

models on our roads: a quarter

(25%) say they do not know, while

a significant proportion (17%) think

this will never happen.

Fewer than one in 10 drivers (8%)

think this tipping point will occur

before 2030 while half (49%) expect

it to take place before 2070.

of drivers expect driverless

cars will become available for

consumers to buy in the 2020s

RAC call to action:

Autonomous vehicles: see page 91

of motorists expect driverless

vehicles to outnumber

conventional models by 2040

RAC Report on Motoring 2016