British drivers believe autonomous cars will deliver benefits for the elderly and disabled

British drivers think vehicles fitted with autonomous technologies will offer the most benefit to the elderly and disabled, according to a new survey conducted by Nissan.

60 per cent of respondents believe improved mobility will be the primary advantage of autonomous cars, with 56 per cent saying they think it will benefit the disabled, while 42 per cent believe it will benefit the visually impaired and 30 per cent believe it will help the elderly.

The survey also found that 76 per cent of drivers admitted to multi-tasking behind the wheel, such as eating (38 per cent) or illegally texting (11 per cent), and 44 per cent liked the idea of autonomous vehicles taking care of the driving to provide more free or productive time.

Just over half of those surveyed (51 per cent) thought a reduction in accidents caused by human error would be a positive outcome of the new technology, but 53 per cent still saw the driver not having full control of the car as the biggest safety concern.

Alex Smith, managing director of Nissan GB, commented: “Mass-market autonomous technologies are very much in their infancy, so the vast majority of drivers won’t have had the opportunity to experience life on the road with them. Therefore we’d expect some hesitancies about such a revolutionary change to how we drive our cars – or indeed how our cars drive us.

“However, these results are pleasantly optimistic, particularly with regards identifying the benefits to users who will rely on the technology more, such as the elderly or the impaired. The fact that more than one in seven (13 per cent) buyers are already considering some kind of autonomously-equipped car for their next purchase also demonstrates an enthusiasm for these new innovations.”