Press Release
DEKRA survey in four countries
Autonomous Driving: Germans Significantly
More Skeptical Than Other Drivers
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Only 8% of Germans expect a breakthrough within the next ten years
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Greatest amount of confidence in the USA
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DEKRA experts: challenges relate primarily to framework conditions
Germans are noticeably more skeptical than people from other countries
when it comes to autonomous self-driving cars. This is the outcome of an
international Forsa survey on behalf of the expert organization DEKRA, the
findings of which were presented at the IAA in Frankfurt. According to the
survey, only 8% of respondents in Germany believe that fully autonomous
cars will catch on within the next ten years. 32% estimate that it will take
more than 20 years, while a further 31% even believe that fully autonomous
cars will not become an established concept at all. Among the other
countries that took part in the survey – France (21%), New Zealand (23%)
and the USA (33%) – a much greater number of respondents expect
autonomous cars to experience their breakthrough by 2025.
In all four countries, a significant majority think that the increasing level of
automation in cars will bring in general about an increase in safety. In Germany,
almost half (49%) envisage major safety gains. Only a slim minority (5-9%) in all
countries believe that automation will not lead to safety increases at all.
Drivers in all of the countries included in the survey expect blind spot assist
systems to enhance safety most of all. In all countries, it was most commonly listed
among the three systems with the greatest relevance to safety, with the
percentage of respondents somewhere between 57% and 65% depending on the
country. This masks a number of considerable differences between the countries.
Whereas lane keeping assist, for example, is rated as extremely relevant to safety
in both the USA (41%) and New Zealand (39%), it plays a less important role for
respondents in France (29%) and Germany (24%). Europeans consider active
brake assist to be a more important safety feature, for instance (Germany 54%,
France 47%).
Date
Contact
Phone
Fax
E-Mail
Page
Stuttgart / Frankfurt, September 16, 2015 / No. 104-A
Wolfgang Sigloch
+49.711.7861-2386
+49.711.7861-2913
[email protected]
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DEKRA e.V.
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www.dekra.com/press
According to the results of the survey, the outlook for the acceptance of driver
assistance systems and automated solutions is relatively good in the four
countries concerned. In general, a minority of just 3% and 6% would not like any
electronic assistance at all in their own cars.
"Driver assistance systems and the increasing automation of driving have the
potential to help make mobility safer for all," says Stefan Kölbl, Chairman of the
DEKRA e.V. and DEKRA SE Management Boards. "It is also unprotected road
users such as pedestrians and cyclists, children and senior citizens that will
especially benefit from this."
However, when it comes to the future of autonomous driving, the DEKRA experts
are also drawing attention to the challenges that are yet to be overcome. "Vehicle
technology itself is not the crucial factor. After all, a number of manufacturers have
already proven that vehicles are technically capable of driving autonomously. The
real challenges lie more in the framework conditions," notes the DEKRA CEO.
"We need a set of very clear standards, regulations and controls in this respect."
From the perspective of the DEKRA experts, this includes both issues of liability
and the matter of digital security against manipulation. Another important issue is
the testability of the safety-relevant electronic systems and functions. "When the
vehicle takes control, the risk is transferred from the driver to the systems," states
Dr. Gerd Neumann, Chairman of the Management Board of DEKRA Automobil
GmbH. "This makes it all the more fundamental that these systems function
continuously and reliably – and of course these aspects must be tested as well as
part of a general inspection. This is why inspectors require access above all to
necessary data providing information about functional reliability."
For the DEKRA Managing Director, one thing is for certain – the safety partnership
between vehicle manufacturers and the inspection organizations must be
renewed based on previously tried-and-tested practices. "As early as the vehicle
development and homologation stage, there must be a set of rules determining
how our inspection engineers will be able to inspect these vehicles later down the
line," says Dr. Neumann.
About DEKRA
DEKRA has been active in the field of safety for 90 years. Founded in 1925 in Berlin as
Deutscher Kraftfahrzeug-Überwachungs-Verein e.V., it is today one of the world’s leading
expert organizations. DEKRA SE is a subsidiary of DEKRA e.V. and manages the Group’s
operating business. DEKRA generated sales of around €2.5 billion in 2014. The company
currently employs around 35,000 people in more than 50 countries on all five continents.
With qualified and independent expert services, they work for safety on the road, at work
and at home. These services range from vehicle inspection and expert appraisals to claims
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services, industrial and building inspections, safety consultancy, testing and certification
of products and systems, as well as training courses and temporary work. The vision for
the company’s 100th birthday in 2025 is that DEKRA will be the global partner for a safe
world.
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