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Are Driverless Cars a Solution for Road Safety?
Each year, millions of people die from traffic accidents on roads worldwide. As city
leaders take action globally to improve road safety, some innovators have begun to address
one of the major causes of traffic accidents, human error, by exploring self-driving
technologies.
Self-driving cars are emerging from laboratories and are starting test-runs on the road,
drawing increasing attention for their potential to reduce collisions. For example, this
week’s Towards Zero Conference 2015—a global conference on road safety—will feature
automated transport as one of this year’s three themes.
Although the technology is improving, some skeptics have voiced doubts. For one, driverless
technology cannot correct the mistakes of other road users like pedestrians, cyclists, and
motorcyclists. Moreover, human error is not the only cause of traffic accidents.
Environmental factors play an important role as well. Street design, traffic conditions, signs
and signals, and weather conditions all influence how people behave on the road. It’s difficult
to completely eliminate mistakes, no matter how far driverless technology evolves.
In light of this discussion, let’s take a look at the current state driverless technology.
Driverless Cars Aim to Reduce Error on the Road
The first driverless car was prototyped in the 1980s by Carnegie Mellon University. Since
then, car companies, the IT industry, as well as research universities have become
increasingly interested in self-driving technologies.
Although most driverless cars are currently in the prototyping or design phases, some cities
and states in the US, Australia, and Europe have passed legislation to allow for testing on
actual roads.
Driverless technologies are designed to reduce error by replacing human perception and
judgement with sensors and computer systems. Typically, these cars are equipped with radar,
GPS, cameras, and artificial intelligence.
For example, Google’s driverless cars, which began road testing in 2012, are mounted with
laser-based radar that can generate a detailed “map” of the surroundings. The computer then
combines this locally-generated map with existing, high-resolution maps to model a route,
allowing the car to drive itself.
Since driverless cars can theoretically “see” the entire picture of their surroundings, the idea
is that they can drive more efficiently and safely. Driverless cars don’t drive drunk or and
don’t experience fatigue—two common causes of traffic collisions. In addition to improving
road safety, some advocates claim that driverless cars could reduce congestion, lower
emissions, and make traveling more comfortable.
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A prototype of Google’s driverless car is currently being tested on city roads. Photo by
General Physics Laboratory/Flickr.
Driverless cars can also fit into greater intelligent transport systems. Among them, vehicle-to-
vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication systems enable cars to send
and receive information from surrounding cars or roadside units, such as traffic signals or
speed signs, allowing them to adjust their behavior accordingly.
Researchers from University of Texas in Austin are developing smart intersections that have
no traffic lights or stop signs, but communicate directly with each autonomous car.
Ambitious car companies have also made plans to invest in driverless technologies. Both
Mercedes and Volvo claim to be piloting fully-automated, “crash-free” cars by 2020. GM,
Audi, and BMW are all expected to sell cars that can drive themselves at least partially by the
same here.
Daimler, the second largest truck manufacturer in the world, is piloting a driverless truck in
the United States. The truck can drive autonomously on open freeways, allowing the driver to
check emails and relax while in transit
Driverless Cars as Part of a Safer System
Self-driving technology is increasingly shaping current discussions of road safety. However,
there’s still a lot of innovation to be done before driverless cars can become affordable,
widely adopted products at a global scale.
Because of this, it’s still too early to fully evaluate the impact of self-driving vehicles on road
safety. We need to remember that eliminating traffic deaths and injuries requires a system of
roads designed for safety as well as complementary technological solutions.