Self Driving Car Analysis

How To Solve All Our Traffic Problems With Self-Driving Cars
This article written by Chris De Santis explains the three major traffic problems that are impossible to solve because of our human driving differences, but points out that the self-driving cars of the future have the clear solutions. The 1st problem is the ripple effect. When one car reacts to something on the highway and slows down, this starts a ripple effect that will cause a car to stop eventually down the line. The effect will keep going, keeping the traffic slow. The solution is self-driving cars that are programmed to stay equidistance in the middle between 2 cars and accelerate simultaneously. The 2nd problem are the slow reaction times of drivers that cause grid lock at the next

intersection, which are common in high-density populated cities.

The Self-driving cars with the ability to sinc with other cars will be able to accelerate at the same time and speed. This will avoid delayed reactions that can cause traffic buildup and grid-lock at intersections. The 3rd problem he explains are traffic lights. Traffic lights were created for cars to communicate with each other at intersections so they know when to stop and go. Self-driving technology, that has the ability to communicate with each individual car at the speed of light is the solution. Traffic lights can then be eliminated since all cars will know when or when not to go. All in all, self-driving cars of the future that have the technology and ability to communicate, so they can coordinate to accelerate and separate simultaneously, is our answer to these traffic issues. De Santis concluded that "when the stigmas surrounding self-driving cars are torn down and mass populations start to invest in and utilize self-driving technologies, we will

start seeing much safer and efficient roads” (De Santis, C. 2016)