auto alliance:

According to Alliance poll results, consumers are still cool to automated or “self-driving” cars with 33 percent indicating that such cars are a good idea, 42 percent saying they are a bad idea, and 24 percent unsure. Many consumers are unsure about the importance of self-driving cars:

40 percent of respondents believe self-driving cars do not enhance safety.

24 percent say they enhance safety by limiting human error.

12 percent see them as important to allow elderly and disabled people to drive.

8 percent believe they liberate people to do other things in the vehicle.

16 percent are unsure of the importance of self-driving cars.

Today, the driver is responsible for controlling the vehicle, and consumers expect the same laws to apply for self-driving cars.

Polling shows strong consumer support for requiring the driver or operator of a self-driving vehicle to have a driver’s license (86 percent), for prohibiting the driver from texting/surfing the internet (72 percent), for not allowing the driver to be under 16 years old (86 percent) and for banning alcohol consumption while operating the vehicle (88 percent).

If a self-driving car were in an accident, who should be liable for the damage? About one third of respondents (31 percent) were unsure. According to the poll, 30 percent said the software company controlling the vehicle, 22 percent said the vehicle owner, 7 percent said the company that installed the equipment and 7 percent said the vehicle manufacturer.

I have been unable to find the raw poll information.

Joseph White:

A more clear-cut worry surfaced in the poll: Privacy. About 75% of respondents said they were concerned that companies would use the software that controls a self-driving car to collect personal data, and 70% were worried that data would be shared with the government. Asked whether they were worried that hackers could gain control of a self-driving vehicle, 81% of the respondents replied they were either very or somewhat concerned about that threat, the Alliance says.

A summary of Cisco’s recent self driving car survey can be found here.

Ryan Lundquist:

It’s usually good to stand out in real estate – but not for odd reasons. Here are some of the fun things I’ve seen during the business day on appraisal inspections. These are probably things to avoid doing to your house.

NFL Driveway: I am a huge sports fan and diehard sports talk radio listener, but spray painting a dozen stencils of your favorite team’s logo on your concrete driveway doesn’t make the neighborhood look good.

Julius Genachowski:

Colorado is currently considering proposals to outlaw Uber and other services that enable passengers to book a car service from their smartphones. Uber and its competitors face similar challenges from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to Washington, DC.

In May, the North Carolina State Senate voted unanimously to prohibit Tesla Motors, the innovative electric car company, from selling cars directly to consumers, including via the Internet. The Texas legislature recently retained similar prohibitions until at least 2015.