Young motorists support autonomous vehicles

Yamaha’s self-riding Motobot

More than half of Generation Z future motorists under 17 believe that autonomous self-driving vehicles will make the roads safer.

This comes as Yamaha has announced it wants to have a self-riding motorcycle available for sale in the next decade.

Unfortunately, this is not an April Fools’ Day joke – we don’t do them.

These statistics come from the 2016 Cox Automotive Gen Z Automotive Study by American company Ipsos who surveyed more than 3000 US residents aged 12-65. Gen Z account for almost a quarter of the population.

While many current motorcyclists have negative comments about autonomous bikes and self-driving vehicles, the next generation of riders and drivers seem more positive.

Do young riders want autonomous vehicles?

More than half (54%) of Gen Z respondents found fully self-driving vehicles appealing and 47% want most cars to drive themselves in the next 10 years, the survey found.

While there was no mention in the study of motorcycles, Gen Z seems open to the idea of autonomous vehicles.

Their main motivation for supporting the development of autonomous vehicles is safety with 61% saying they would be safer.

Almost half (45%) claim autonomous vehicles would ease concerns about distracted drivers, while 41% think these vehicles would lead to fewer accidents on the road.

Despite being tech-savvy, 65% are still suspicious of autonomous technology and 41% say autonomous vehicles would not drive as well as people.

What do you think of autonomous motorcycles and other vehicles? Will they make our roads safer? Leave your comments in the “Leave a reply” section below.

Source: motorbikewriter.com