SAE NEWS SAE survey: Riding in automated vehicle reinforces positive perceptions SAE surveyed participants in its 4-city Demo Days automated-vehicle ridealong program for the public to determine their impressions before and after riding in an AV on public roads. If there's one takeaway from SAE International's groundbreaking Demo Days program that took place in various U.S. cities over a recent 18-month period, it's that everyday people who've had the opportunity to ride in an automated vehicle (AV) on real roads are the antithesis of Chaucer's familiar phrase, "familiarity breeds contempt." During the program that generated 1,395 surveys, nearly all (88%) of these early enthusiasts found no reason to change their positive perception of AVs after what was for 94% their first ride in a vehicle operating with high-level automated functionality. Participants at each of the Demo Days demonstration were surveyed about their impressions before and after their approximately 10-minute AV ride. 2 December 2019 The sentiment of those who rode in AVs during the SAE Demo Days largely contradicts the findings from recent surveys that indicate continuing latent distrust and even expanding lack of confidence in automated-driving technology. Equally significant, after completing an AV demo ride, participants were asked to assess the self-driving vehicle experience compared to that of a human-driven vehicle. An overwhelming 76% of participants indicated the self-driving ride was similar to- or even superior to-past human-driven experiences. Perhaps related to this response, more than a third (37%) of respondents indicated they believe the most significant benefit of AVs will be to reduce or eliminate deaths from vehicular crashes. UPDATE