Users’ Propensity to Use Self-Driving Systems of SAE Automation Level 1 and 2 Cars: Results of an Italian Survey

The automotive sector is currently developing advanced autonomous functionalities which are expected to be soon integrated into the vehicles. These vehicles can help to reduce road accidents, ease traffic congestion, improve fuel consumption, and reduce pollutant emissions. By contrast, there are still technological, normative, ethical, and social obstacles to the widespread adoption of self-driving cars, among which users’ acceptance covers a relevant issue. The aim of the paper was to investigate the users’ propensity to use self-driving systems of SAE automation Levels 1 and 2. To do this, an hoc mobility survey was performed in Italy among car drivers, investigating both the presence of these autonomous devices on board the vehicles currently used and their frequency of usage. Survey results show that 41% of the respondents currently have a Level 1 and/or 2 system on-board their car: 54% have only the Cruise Control (Level 1 car), while 46% have both of them (Level 2 car). Furthermore, about 85% of the respondent frequently (medium-high) use the Cruise Control and/or Lane Keeping Assist. More than 86% of the drivers stated that these devices significantly improve both road safety and driving stress (improve the travel experience). The highways are the roads where these self-driving systems are mainly used (more than 70% of the time). These results underline the relevant effort that the automotive industry has performed in the last decades about self-driving. In the last five years within the Italian market was observed an increase of more than 200% of the car standard equipment (no optional) with SAE automation Level 1 or 2 systems.