Autonomous vehicles may already be on British roads, but a new survey has revealed that more than half of drivers in the UK are not keen on the prospect.

A study from BuyaCar found that 56 per cent of drivers in the UK are horrified at the prospect of allowing computer technology to take control of the road. At the other end of the scale, just six per cent of drivers admit to being excited about the arrival of driverless vehicles, a figure which has dropped five per cent in the two years that the survey has been taking place.

The biggest change in opinion during the period of the survey sees more than 40 per cent of motorists almost certain that they would never own a driverless car, a figure which has jumped 38 per cent in two years.

"There seems to be a gap emerging between the enthusiasm of transport policy planners toward autonomous vehicles and the willingness of today's motorists to accept them,” said BuyaCar Manager Director, Austin Collins.

"Despite the constant flow of headlines about driverless cars arriving in just a few years, our analysis of the views of motorists shows enthusiasm waning and fears growing. If driver concerns about their introduction continue to mount, it’s possible to imagine it becoming a problem for transport policy makers or even a political issue.

"Perhaps the only way motorists will come to accept autonomous vehicles is by routinely seeing them working safely and efficiently every day, when the big push finally comes."

Autonomous vehicle trials are already underway in a number of locations in the UK, though the fear of driverless cars was heightened last year when a driverless Uber was involved in a fatal accident in the USA last year.

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