As the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) begins an investigation into Cruise based on a couple of incidents regarding the self-driving vehicles and their protocols (behaviors?) around pedestrians, there is more not-so-good news for the purveyor of driverless taxis rides.

J.D. Power has released results of a survey, the J.D. Power U.S. Robotaxi Experience Study, the indicates consumers are not all that chuffed with the prospect of driverless rides and aren’t all that keen on having the vehicles rolling around in their neighborhoods.

As in:

• Only 20% of all consumers are comfortable with automated vehicle tech being tested on the streets and highways in their locale.

What’s more, although Cruise never fails to point out that it maintains its vehicles are safer than humans, J.D. Power found that “nearly 60% of both riders and non-riders say they don’t think a robotaxi drives any better than a human.”

While those who have never taken a ride can be dismissed (e.g., would you believe someone who never ate chocolate ice cream who said it isn’t as good as vanilla?), that even riders are in that cohort isn’t good from a PR point of view.

Kathleen Rizk, senior director of user experience benchmarking and technology, J.D. Power:

“Automated vehicle technology is built on the promise of alleviating distracted driving, impaired driving and collisions attributed to human error.

“However, the benefits result from consumer acceptance, which is why it’s imperative to ensure these first deployments are flawless—not only for the riders but also especially for those who are not early adopters, including non-riders who are experiencing AVs in their community and those learning from a distance through social media and other news outlets.”

When people are learning about things like NTHSA investigations, that can’t be good for Cruise (and to be fair, Waymo).