Automated driving is coming to a road near you very soon, with the UK government pushing ahead with plans to introduce assisted technology to cars later this year.

With legislation passed to introduce Automated Lane Keeping Systems on British roads, the Department of Transport has openly said that drivers could take their eyes off the road while their vehicle is moving.

Similar technology is close to being made legal across the Atlantic, with many transport solutions such as taxis and buses employing driverless solutions. However a consumer survey in the US has found that there is not a great appetite to be a passenger in an automated car.

The poll of 1,000 adults found that one in three would rather swim with sharks than get into a an automated vehicle, and nearly half would rather go sky-diving.

While Tesla is grabbing headlines for high-profile incidents in America, there is still some trust to be built, with the survey from Lynx Software Technologies finding that 80 per cent still trust human skills over that of a computer.

“The future of self-driving automobiles on the roads and flying taxis in the sky might be further than we once thought, but it is inspiring to learn about consumer sentiment toward these technological advancements,” said Arun Subbarao, vice president of engineering and technology at Lynx.

“It is critical that we listen to their concerns as well while these are being developed, so that we can teach consumers about the safety that is being integrated and ensure the proof is in the testing and the results. There is nothing more important than making this new transportation secure.”

Despite the apparent negative outcome of the poll, there is some good news for Elon Musk, with half of respondents actually admitting that they plan to own an autonomous vehicle in the future.

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