New research reveals a stark generational divide in attitudes towards self-driving vehicles, with just 12 per cent of over-65s willing to trust autonomous cars.
This stands in sharp contrast to younger age groups, with a third of those aged between 18 and 26 (33 per cent) expressing comfort with driverless technology.
Overall, more than one in five UK road users would feel comfortable travelling in a driverless car, highlighting the significant trust gap between younger and elderly drivers.
The findings suggest that those aged between 55 and 64 fall between these extremes, with 17 per cent expressing trust in the technology.
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Older people are the most hesitant to trust a self-driving car
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Only 15 per cent of respondents believe introducing driverless cars will result in safer roads, while 22 per cent think road safety levels will remain unchanged.
Despite current hesitancy among older drivers, the path towards autonomous vehicles on UK roads has been strengthened by new legislation.
The Automated Vehicles Act (AV Act) was passed into law in May 2023, establishing the legal framework for driverless cars to operate in Britain.
This landmark legislation outlines comprehensive safety standards, data security protocols, and insurance requirements for autonomous vehicles and suggests they could become operational on UK roads as soon as 2026.
The development comes as the current adoption of semi-autonomous features shows promise, with 42 per cent of drivers already using technology such as lane assist and automatic emergency braking.
However, only eight per cent of people believe car manufacturers have completed sufficient research and development to prove driverless cars are safe for road use.
Matt Freeman, managing consultant at HPI, said: “Although there is still some work to be done, the legal framework is already in place, which means we could see fully autonomous vehicles on our roads within the next two years.
“The Government is already supporting the development and testing of driverless cars through trials and pilot projects.
“The AV Act aims to improve road safety by reducing human error, which is estimated to contribute to 88 per cent of road collisions.”
Regional trust in autonomous vehicles varies significantly across the UK, with 21 per cent of Londoners showing trust in autonomous vehicles, followed closely by the East of England (19 per cent).
A number of Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) trials are taking place in London including Smart Mobility Living Lab London (Transport Research Laboratory), Wayve (Wayve), Endeavour (Oxbotica), ServeCity (Nissan) and Kar-Go (Academy of Robotics).
The most notable of these is Wayve, which recently secured more than $1billion (£780million) in investment to develop its AI self-driving technology further in the UK.
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Self-driving vehicles could be seen on the road by 2026 GETTYThe London-based company is looking to be at the forefront of the self-driving revolution, as backed by co-founder and CEO, Alex Kendall.
Freeman continued, saying: “For years, drivers have been using autonomous tech in their cars in the form of driver assistance systems.
“More recently, ongoing tech and major advances in artificial intelligence, which underpins the decision-making process that cars have to go through to drive themselves, have taken giant strides towards making autonomous vehicles a serious reality.”