The public's feelings over driverless vehicles have largely beensplit, even despite little to no experiencewith automated motoring. Last month's fatal accident in Tempe,Arizona, added to the debate after a pedestrian was struck andkilled by a self-driving Uber during a testing stage.

Recently, insuranceQuotes.com released the results of its studyon the public's perception of autonomous vehicles. The researchersasked, ”If you ordered an Uber, and your ride arrived with nodriver, would you get in?”

The study found that 61% of American adults would notride in a self-driving rideshare, while 36% said they would.Delving deeper into these responses, the study resultshighlighted notable gender and generational differences infeelings towards autonomous Ubers, Lyfts or taxis.

Millennials vs baby boomers

Unsurprisingly, the insuranceQuotes.com study found thatmillennials are more accepting of driverless vehicles andrideshares than older generations.

Among millennials (ages 18-34), 54% responded they would takethe driverless ride, and 45% said they feel safer sharing the roadwith them. This is compared to 36% and 31% for the generalpopulation, respectively.

Interestingly though, a large majority of the generalpublic has optimistic views for the future of autonomous cars,with 71% saying they believe the vehicles will be widely used andwill be statistically safer than human-driven cars within the next50 years.

Related: Navigating the twists and turns of self-drivingcars and insurance

Gender as a factor

The insuranceQuotes.com study identified notable genderdifferences, as well. Across the board, men have warmer feelingstowards automated motoring than women.

When it comes to Uber, men (43%) are more likely than women(31%) to get into a self-driving rideshare. Additionally, 44%of men would feel comfortable in a self-driving car, and 38% wouldfeel safer sharing the road with these vehicles, compared to just29% and 24% of women, respectively.

To help explain these gender differences, Tim Spell, anautomotive technology analyst at insuranceQuotes.com, says thatwhile men and women share most views about driving, women generallyare more practical about transportation needs and place a greaterimportance on feeling secure in a vehicle.

“Time has revealed that teenage males are more likely thanfemales to view cars as toys, and gamble with speed and diceymaneuvers,” Spell adds. “This tendency in many males hasn'tcompletely diminished with adulthood.”

Spell is the author of a new editorial series on driverless cars oninsuranceQuotes.com and has been covering the automotive industryfor more than 30 years.

He adds, “With time and technological advancements, moreAmericans will eventually warm up to self-driving cars, andmanufacturers, insurers, and lawmakers will adjust as well.”

“Over the years, we've seen many automotive innovations — fromthe seat belt to the windshield wiper to the GPS — and, withself-driving vehicles, we're on the cusp of a technology that'sabout to make, by far, the greatest impact of them all.”

For more on Spell's work and the full insuranceQuotes.com study,visit the company's website.

Related: Driverless cars aren't the only danger topedestrians