Australians unsure on autonomous cars

Ford’s latest Trends report reveals that only 52 per cent of Australians are hopeful about the use of autonomous vehicles in the future. "The global average is 61 per cent supporting it, but the numbers really vary in an extraordinary fashion," says Sheryl Connelly, Ford Motor Company's Futurist, and the author of the report. China is the most hopeful regarding the future of autonomous vehicles at 83 per cent. India comes in at 81 per cent, but then there’s a pretty big drop when it comes to Australia at 52 per cent. Both China and India are some of the most populated countries in the world, and with the levels of population density in some areas of the city comes extraordinary congestion. The prospect of having someone drive you around by either, machine or hiring someone could have a substantial impact on how you spend your day. She continues, "I also think it’s a market there that doesn’t have the same infrastructure of roads, so we know the rates of accidents and road fatalities are higher in those markets, which you would expect because of the population density, and correlation of how big the market is." When it comes to Australia's low score, Connelly believes that a sense of self comes into play. This is also backed by the report's numbers, which reveal that The United States, Canada and The United Kingdom had far less hope in autonomous vehicles as well - all coming in at 50 per cent or less.  "In the Western world, the so called rich world, [we] have a much longer history and deeper foundation of seeing a car as an extension of one's identity. I hear it from one of my colleagues who loves cars, who says 'no way will I ever get in an autonomous vehicle. I love the thrill of driving far too much to ever turn it over to someone else.'