As we move closer and closer to a more autonomous future, Americans are narrowly spliton their reception of driverless roadways.

In a new study conducted by AIG, 41% of Americans say they areuncomfortable with the idea of sharing the road with self-drivingvehicles, while 42% say they are generally accepting of theidea.

Overall, respondents say safety is a major concern, while easeof transportation and lower insurance premiums are alluring pros.

Safety and security

Both supportive and opposing respondents are overwhelminglyapprehensive about the safety and security of these driverlessvehicles, with 75% expressing concerns about hackers taking controlof the vehicles' autonomous features, including emergency brakesand lane departure avoidance, for example. And 67% cite concernsover a cyber breach, where personal data such as credit cardinformation, times and destinations of travel, and Internetconnections could become susceptible to hackers.

Related: Tesla automation faulted by NTSB in 2016 fatalFlorida crash

As for overall driving safety, 39% believe autonomous vehicleswill operate more safely than the average human driver, compared to27% who feel they would not.

On the more positive side, respondents in the AIG survey wereasked to identify up to three benefits of driverless vehicles.These were the most appealing:

• Easier/less stressful transportation (44%)
• Increased road safety (42%)
• Lower insurance costs (39%) 

The blame game

The AIG study addressed accident responsibility as well andfound that as a whole, respondents are shifting the blame away fromindividual drivers and toward auto manufacturers and softwaredevelopers.

"As we move from autonomous features to fully driverlessvehicles, risk does not disappear — it shifts from humansto machines," says Lex Baugh, president, Liability and FinancialLines at AIG. "Understanding consumer perceptions of where riskwith new technology ultimately resides today will help industry andinsurers understand where liability may lietomorrow." 

Next, the AIG survey posed two scenarios. In the first, in whicha fully driverless vehicle strikes a pedestrian, 50% of respondentsdeemed the auto manufacturer most responsible for the incident, 37%primarily blamed the software provider, and 23% say the vehicle'soccupant holds some form of liability. 

In the second scenario, the incident involved a vehicle withautomated assisted driving technology. Here, respondents found thedriver most liable (54%), but some still deemed the automaker (33%)and software provider (27%) liable.

Related: The shift to autonomous vehicles means opportunityfor insurers 

As the perceived liability shifts from vehicle owners to vehiclemanufacturers and software developers, 35% of survey respondentsbelieve automated assistance systems or fully driverless vehiclesshould result in lower insurance premiums for the vehicleowner.

"The need for personal auto insurance will not go away asdriverless cars emerge. Though without doubt, we will see shiftingof liability in certain scenarios," says Gaurav D. Garg, CEOPersonal Insurance, AIG. "There are many ways for the driverlessvehicle story to unfold over the next several years. It is criticalfor insurers to carefully watch the trend to help prepareclients — both consumers and businesses."

Assessing the future of driverlessroadways

A report by Ark Invest Research argues that adominantly autonomous vehicle future is much closer than manybelieve. The report predicts that autonomous taxi services will becommercially available by 2019, and will be the dominant form oftransportation by the late 2020s. Respondents in the AIG survey,however, believe it will be 22 years before fully driverlessvehicles represent more than 20% of all vehicles on U.S. roadwaysand 34 years before these self-driving machines are themajority.

Survey respondents were asked to cite the most significantreasons for delay or prevention of widespread availability ofself-driving vehicles. The top responses include:

• Costs will be too high (55%);
• Computer systems won't be adequately secured (41%);
• People enjoy driving too much (41%); and
• The vehicles won't be safe enough (35%).

Self-operating vehicles are no doubt in our future, butAmericans' receptive attitudes and perceptions are not quite ascertain. As drivers stand equally divided on the matter, there isplenty for insurers, auto manufacturers and software developers tofocus on as they consider their customers and the future oftransportation as we know it.

Related: AIG CEO Brian Duperreault: the NUinterview