A staggering 85 percent of Americans aren’t comfortable with the idea of a driverless car pulling next to them at a light or passing them in a bike lane — but 68 percent of them also think better vehicle-safety standards will make autonomous vehicles safe enough for our streets, a new survey shows.

Advocates aren’t so sure about that — and they’re trying to convince lawmakers that we can’t afford to be hands-off about the hands-free-driving revolution.

The survey was released by the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety as part of an effort to get Congress to impose tighter regulations on the budding autonomous-car industry. The group’s president, Cathy Chase, reported its findings to a congressional committee hearing on Tuesday.
The survey didn’t ask why, exactly, Americans are anxious about AVs, but its results suggests some possibilities.
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