A misunderstanding about driver assistance systems - such as adaptive cruise control and lane keep assistance - and misleading marketing by car makers is 'dangerously confusing' motorists into thinking they have an autonomous vehicle.
That's according to research by two of Europe's leading safety bodies.
Crash test experts Euro NCAP released the results of a new set of tests that found that motorists cannot rely on these already-available systems.
And Thatcham Research said manufacturers are over-hyping the technology as semi-autonomous or self-driving systems to 'gain a competitive edge' that is making seven in 10 people think you can buy a driverless car in showrooms today.
A survey of more than 1,500 issued by both safety groups found that 71 per cent of motorists wrongly believed that autonomous cars are already on sale today.
Shockingly, one in 10 polled said they would consider taking a nap when a driver assistance system - such as Tesla's AutoPilot - is activated, while 18 per cent said the could 'sit back and relax and let the car do the driving'.
The results of the survey also found that only half thought they would be responsible if their vehicle crashed with one of the driver assistance systems active.
Both safety organisations pointed the finger at manufacturers' marketing materials as being misleading.
Thatcham singled out Audi, BMW, Citroen, Mercedes, Tesla and Volvo as examples that could confuse motorists into thinking they can rely entirely on these assistance systems.
While Euro NCAP and Thatcham Research both warned about the dangers of wrongly believing that these features meant a car to drive itself, they said the assistance systems worked with the driver to make driving safer as long as the human was ready to intervene.
To showcase the limitations of the existing technology, Euro NCAP conducted tests while using two of the most misunderstood assistance systems.
Adaptive cruise control can automatically match the speed of the vehicle travelling in front and accelerate and decelerate to retain the same distance to the car ahead.
Used together with lane keep assist - which steers the car so it remains within the road markings - may give the impression that the vehicle is driving itself.
However, controlled tests using a number of vehicles on the market showed this was not the case.
Euro NCAP said there are common scenarios that take place on dual carriageways and motorways where the systems fail to avoid accidents, mainly when another car cuts in ahead or when the vehicle being followed swerves at the last second to avoid a collision with something in the road, not giving enough time for the technology to react.
Thatcham added that 'none of the systems were able to help and crashes could only be avoided if an alert driver braked or steered away from trouble'.
The systems reviewed were also found to have varying levels of human dependency.
The DS 7 Crossback and BMW 5 Series, for example, were judged to leave the driver primarily in control in all scenarios.
However, an Audi A6, Ford Focus, Mercedes C-Class, Volvo V60 and Nissan Leaf also reviewed were said to offer 'a balance between driver and system assistance'.
Tesla, on the other hand, was deemed too effective by the test panel.
In the report, safety experts said the American firm's AutoPilot system 'risks an over reliance on the assistance system with the vehicle being primarily in control'.
The DS 7 Crossback and BMW 5 Series, for example, were judged to leave the driver primarily in control in all scenarios.
However, an Audi A6, Ford Focus, Mercedes C-Class, Volvo V60 and Nissan Leaf also reviewed were said to offer 'a balance between driver and system assistance'.
Tesla, on the other hand, was deemed too effective by the test panel.
In the report, safety experts said the American firm's AutoPilot system 'risks an over reliance on the assistance system with the vehicle being primarily in control'.
Women (53 per cent) dread the introduction of driverless vehicles more than men (42 per cent), while it's better received among 25 to 34-year-olds (49 per cent), compared to just 18 per cent of those aged 55 or over.
-Daily Mail