AVs great to get home from the pub – survey

New Zealanders would happily catch an autonomous vehicle (AV) home after a big night out but are more tight-fisted than their Australian counterparts about how much they would spend buying their own.

That’s among findings from the latest survey commissioned by the Australia and New Zealand Driverless Vehicle Initiative (ADVI) showcased at the two-day Intelligent Transport Systems NZ T-Tech19 conference in Christchurch on its second day, May 7.

The AV passenger economy is estimated at US$7 trillion globally in 2050, according to a 2017 study, and ADVI executive director Rita Excell says both New Zealand and Australia could grab a share while also preventing many road deaths and injuries.

“Nearly 400 lives were lost on New Zealand roads in 2018, making it the country’s worst annual road toll in a decade – so it is great to learn that New Zealanders are more open to accepting driverless technology as part of their daily lives than Australians and are less concerned about having their vehicle connected to and communicating automatically with other vehicles and road infrastructure (5.7% more Australians),” she says.

“Different car ownership models and greater connectivity with the network means less congestion – which is sure to be great news for the Aucklanders who were identified in the 2018 AA Congestion Report as wasting an average 78.6 hours sitting in motorway traffic each year. In Auckland alone congestion is estimated to cost the city around $2 billion in lost productivity each year.”

New Zealanders are less willing to pay more for an AV, with Australians showing a greater median amount extra ($A5000 extra) for a fully-automated vehicle than their current car compared to New Zealand respondents ($A4650 extra).

However, New Zealanders emerged as more prepared to use driverless public transport or ride sharing if it helped to reduce congestion (7.1% more respondents from New Zealand). More said they would use a driverless vehicle when physically or mentally unable to drive manually (10.3% more New Zealanders), after consuming alcohol, drugs or taking medication (9.1% more new Zealanders) and when they are tired or fatigued (6.2% more New Zealanders).

Younger respondents say they are more likely to do personal grooming, eat or drink, work or be on their mobile phone or iPad when travelling in a driverless vehicle.

Overall, most people say while they’re happy to look out the window and chat with others, going to sleep in an AV isn’t a popular option.

“Most New Zealanders have now heard about driverless vehicles, but a lack of direct experience saw high levels of concern on people’s legal and financial responsibility if a vehicle has a crash when in full driverless mode,” Excell says. “Most respondents are comfortable with a driverless vehicle doing most normal driving functions, but flagged concern about letting the technology change lanes or follow too closely to the vehicle in front.”

“People understand the very significant congestion, health and safety benefits on offer, but also recognise that the technology could provide greater mobility for people with driving impairments or restrictions, reduced insurance premiums and less overall repair costs.”

The ADVI-commissioned survey involved 5102 Australians and 1049 New Zealanders answering 93-questions.