Nearly Half Of Respondents Say Home Delivery Will Be 'Too Dangerous'

The world's largest conference on drones – unmanned flying vehicles increasingly used by governments, industry and individuals – meeting this week in Amsterdam, heard that only a small majority of Americans view drones favorably, and a strong majority have serious safety concerns about them. However, Americans overwhelmingly expect drones to begin home deliveries in the next five to ten years.

Those sometimes-contradictory findings were shared by veteran U.S. political and crisis communications expert John Ashford, chairman of The Hawthorn Group, an Alexandria, Virginia based public affairs firm. They were based on a poll Hawthorn commissioned from TargetPoint who completed 801 telephone interviews November 17-19, with a margin of error of +/- three points.  Additional data on shooting down drones and security threats from Chinese manufactured drones came from an on-line poll conducted by 1Q on November 25.

The TargetPoint poll's specific findings were as  follows:

Americans expect drones to be more prevalent and currently trust the industry

• 70% expect home delivery in 5-10 years.
• 68% believe that commercial use over communities will be safe.

However, support for drones is soft.

• 58% think drones are a good idea; 42% do not
• 51% support neighborhood deliveries; 49% think they are too dangerous.

A strong majority is concerned about safety and drones. 68% are concerned; only 7% are not concerned at all.

An overwhelming majority expect something will go wrong and support regulation

• 82% believe commercial drones used for small scale and cargo deliveries will cause a serious accident sooner or later.
• 71% have privacy concerns.
• 93% want some form of regulation.

The 1Q poll found that Chinese made drones raise additional concerns

• 83% think security concerns about Chinese manufacturers are valid.
• 71% think Chinese made drones should be banned from U.S. Government Agencies.
• 55% think Chinese made drones should be banned from U.S. businesses and individuals.

(Source: The Hawthorn Group, L.C. Image from file)

FMI: www.hawthorngroup.com