Most Parents Would Trust A Self-Driving Car More Than a Stranger, Ford Finds in Trend Report
*By Amanda Weston*
If forced to choose between putting their child in driverless car or in a vehicle driven by a stranger, the majority of parents, Ford reports, would prefer a non-human to take the wheel.
"When we talk about trust, that's somewhere where we see something really jumping out at us," Sheryl Connelly, futurist at Ford ($F), told Cheddar Monday. "67 percent of the people we spoke to in our survey said they would rather their child ride in a self-driving vehicle than be in a vehicle with a stranger. And I think that's really powerful."
That statistic is just one of many compiled in the seventh annual Further With Ford [trend report](https://social.ford.com/en_US/ford-community/ford-trends.html?fmccmp=link-fordtrends-home-none-fs-top-none-170615).
The report amassed the opinions of survey respondents from around the world. The report shows that 43 percent of adults in the U.S. believe self-driving cars will drive more safely than humans at the wheel.
Another part of the global survey looked at generational perspectives on the new technology: 72 percent of millennials said one of the biggest benefits of self-driving tech is the luxury of having more free time, compared to just 51 percent of baby boomers. Gen X and Gen Z came in at 64 percent and 71 percent, respectively.
With self-driving at the forefront, Ford may already be building a solid reputation. Connelly said research shows if a group of self-driving cars pulled up to the curb, most people would choose the Ford model.
"We think that has a lot to do with our legacy of trust and transparency," Connelly said.
**Here are some of the other takeaways from the report:**
* 87 percent of American adults think that technology is the biggest driver of today’s change.
* 44 percent of women and 37 percent of men are afraid of Artificial Intelligence technology.
* 42 percent of millennials and 43 percent of Gen Z believe that their phone/device knows more about them than their family.
* More than 75 percent of adults worldwide think that companies don’t do enough to accommodate the needs of working parents.
* 84 percent of adults agree companies should offer mental health days as part of their benefits.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/ford-compiles-latest-trends-in-work-life-self-driving-car-trust-and-more).
Joe Cecela, Dream Exchange CEO, explains how they are aiming to form the first minority-controlled company to operate an exchange in U.S. history. Watch!
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
