Driverless vehicles are seen as less safe by consumers compared to two years ago, with the vehicle autonomy preference shifting from Level 4 to Level 2 — the level currently available. The number of respondents who believe roads would be safer if all vehicles were fully autonomous versus operated by people has decreased 18 percentage points in two years.

People are not quite ready to let go of the steering wheel

Nearly 85 percent of respondents in the 2018 survey think people should always have the option to drive themselves even in a self-driving vehicle, compared to 16 percent who would feel comfortable letting an autonomous vehicle drive them without the option of being able to take control.

Consumer confidence in autonomous vehicles has been eroding in the wake of recent crashes, such as the fatal Uber accident in Arizona and mishaps involving semi-autonomous systems in Tesla vehicles.

While consumer awareness of full self-driving technology is up 24 percentage points in the past two years, the perception of its safety has dived nearly 20 percentage points.

“People now have a deeper understanding of the complexities involved when creating a self-driving car, and that has them reconsidering their comfort level when it comes to handing over control,” noted Karl Brauer, executive publisher of Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book.

Despite current consumer trepidation, Cox sees autonomous vehicle adoption gaining traction. That will have broad implications on automakers and dealers.

“Miles traveled will shift toward fleet-owned vehicles, causing what we believe to be a potential 40 percent reduction in consumer vehicle sales,” said Isabelle Helms, vice president of research and market intelligence at Cox Automotive.

Cox is making a big bet on that future today. The company recently created a business unit to sell software and services to car-sharing and ride-hailing companies, vehicle subscription programs and, eventually, robotaxi fleets.