Driverless cars win just 3% support in YouGov poll

Public trust in autonomous vehicle technology appears minimal, with new YouGov data revealing that only 3% of UK adults would choose to travel in a driverless car over a human-driven vehicle.

The research comes as Uber declares itself "ready to go" with autonomous taxi deployments in the UK.

However, the UK government has delayed its approval timeline for fully self-driving vehicles until late 2027 — a move unlikely to face public backlash if current sentiment is anything to go by.

Asked how they would prefer to travel on everyday journeys, just 3% of respondents said they would opt for a driverless vehicle.

A far greater proportion (40%) favoured being driven by another person, while more than half (51%) said they prefer to be behind the wheel themselves.

The findings highlight a significant trust gap that manufacturers and mobility providers will need to overcome as they develop and promote advanced driver assistance systems and fully autonomous technologies.

Demographic splits reveal that attitudes vary more significantly by age and gender. While 51–63% of men and over-25s favour self-driving, those figures drop sharply among younger and female respondents. Only 26% of 18–24-year-olds and 39% of women prefer to drive, indicating a stronger lean toward being passengers – but not necessarily in driverless cars.