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Good News: Most Drivers Would Still Want To Drive Their Self-Driving Cars

When the automobile became accessible to the general public in the 1910s, it single-handedly improved the individual freedom of movement to a level that was impossible to imagine in the 19th century. And over the years, passenger vehicles became smarter and more comfortable, with the next big thing in the industry being self-driving technology. But as opposed to the likes of heated seats, autonomous cars have a long, long way to go.
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Photo: Florin Profir
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The problem with this technology isn’t that the best one available at the present moment is Level 3 out of a possible Level 5, but how people view these cars. Mazda and market research company Ipsos MORI carried out a survey on this matter, and 11,008 respondents have made their voices heard. The bottom line is, “an average of 66% of drivers wanted to remain behind the wheel even if self-driving cars become widely available.”

Of the 11,008 adults polled across key European markets, 1,002 are from the United Kingdom. And in that country, 71% of the people surveyed claim “they would still want to drive, even with self-driving technology available.” What’s more, there’s no evidence that the youngest among us are more open to autonomous driving technology than senior motorists.

As the industry ramps up development of self-driving cars, actual driving will become a forgotten pleasure to future generations. And if electric vehicles will become the norm in a few decades, few youngsters will ever get to understand what it means to work your left foot with the clutch and row through the gears to overtake a slow coach on the motorway.

“It’s heartening to see that so many British drivers still love driving – yes, self-driving cars are coming and yes they have a role to play, but for us, there is nothing quite like the physical pleasure of driving; the quickening of the pulse, the racing of the heart, the open road, the special moments to treasure and share,” said Jeremy Thomson, Mazda UK managing director.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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