Autonomous vehicles, or AVs as they are called in the article “The Promise and Perils of Autonomous Vehicle Technology”, are self-driven cars that could be a possible form of transportation in the future. The thesis of the article is the idea that AVs have the potential to reduce many negative externalities of automobile use and to create new benefits as well. The authors explain that AVs have the potential to make better use of land, reduce traffic congestion, and have a positive impact on the safety of transportation. This article is taken from a chapter of the book Autonomous Vehicle Technology and thoroughly explains the possible outcomes of having self-driven vehicles.
A main point the authors made in the article is how AVs would affect
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In cities, a large amount of valuable space is taken up by parking garages. Given the ability to remotely park, a passenger could be dropped off and then an AV could park itself at a location of less population. This would create space where parking garages would be to allow places of importance to relocate so they could be in close proximity of one …show more content…
The authors mentioned two forms of traffic congestion, recurrent and nonrecurrent. Recurrent congestion occurs at the same time each day as a result of too many vehicles trying to get to the same destination. Nonrecurring congestion are unexpected delays caused by car accidents, weather, and construction. AVs could potentially eliminate human error so traffic delays from accidents would be reduced which would make it a safer option. Another way AVs could reduce congestion is to increase vehicle throughput which is the efficiency of car travel on roads. “The ability to constantly monitor surrounding traffic and respond with finely tuned braking and acceleration adjustments should enable AVs to travel safely at higher speeds and with reduced headway (space) between each vehicle” (Anderson et al. 21). This concept would reduce travel time and produce a more consistent time of arrival. AVs have the potential to create a much more efficient and safer way for workers to commute each morning.
A major point made throughout the article was how AVs could affect safety. Many accidents are caused by some form of distracted driving. Texting while driving, calling someone while driving, and not being focused are all causes of car accidents that would be eliminated by an AV. The article explains how this would drastically decrease the number of fatalities caused by roadway accidents. The authors also explained
Have you ever wanted to get things done without leaving the comfort of your own home? In today’s society that possibility is becoming reality. Technology has taken a big turn for the outlook people will have when it come to driving because they will not have to. Self-driving cars and their popularity is growing rapidly, but with the popularity also comes the worry. The advanced cars could accomplish many things, but there is a large opportunity for things to go very wrong.
There will be a day when driving will not require a license. Children will be traveling on their own, teens will be texting while driving, adults will be doing their jobs while driving, and the elderly who are visually or physically impaired will be able to transport themselves (Symonds). This will be made possible through new technological car advancements that will enable a car to be driverless. With technology increasing exponentially, and our everyday lives getting busier and busier, we need a solution. Weeks of productivity are lost each year by Americans (Pollette). Driverless cars will cause this issue to vanish by reducing delays and smoothing traffic flow (Winston). Most technology will have flaws, and this is also true for driverless cars’ technology. Improvements are being made to enhance the car (Pollette), but accidents will still take place. Despite the flaws, driverless cars will make trips shorter, and when trips are long, we will be able to multitask.
Companies like Google, Tesla and Nissan, among others, have announced over the past few years that their companies are trying to develop self-driving or autonomous cars [Ref. 1 and 2]. Self-driving cars can provide many benefits to the average consumer. Studies have shown that because computers can react and process information many times faster than a human being, crashes on streets and roads can be decreased with quick and consistent evasion maneuvers by the autonomous car. They can also help maximize fuel economy by calculating the most direct and fastest routes. When the driving of an autonomous car demonstrates that the computer can safely and reliably transport the passengers to their destination, this frees up the passengers to do other things that they would not normally be able to do if they were driving the car manually. For this reason, self-driving cars can help maximize productivity of their passengers.
There is a high percentage of people that spend a majority of their day sitting behind the wheel of a vehicle. Whether it is commuting to work, taking the kids to school, running errands, or simply going out to eat one may feel that their car has become a second home. With so much time spent behind the wheel, drivers become comfortable and incorporate distracting activities while trying to remain focused on the road. Our inability to put our cell phones away while driving is inexcusable. Drivers who choose to use mobile devices are endangering people’s lives and property with associated risks that are not acceptable. No one distracted driver is better than the next. Do to rising accidents
The term autonomous refers to the capability of acting independently, or having the freedom to do so. A self-driving car is an autonomous car, which has the ability to sense its environment and navigating without any human operations. These types of cars are built to make safe and smart decisions on the road. In the past years, automobile companies have begun to introduce advanced driver assistance systems that are capable of parking, switching lanes, and braking in case of an emergency on their own, without the driver’s assistance. Automated vehicles are capable of maneuvering through street traffic, as well as other natural and man-made obstacles along the way. Therefore, this technology might completely change the methods of transportation.
The goals behind self-driving cars are to decrease collisions, traffic jams and the use of gas and harmful pollutants. The autonomous automobile is able to maneuver around objects and create swift lines of cars on roadways (How Google’s self-Driving Car Works, 2011). The autonomous vehicle can react faster than humans can, meaning less accidents and the potential to save thousands of lives. Another purpose and vision for these cars is that vehicles would become a shared resource. When someone needed a car, he or she could just use his or her Smartphone and a self-sufficient car would drive up and pick him or her up.
“A delayed software response of as little as one tenth of a second is likely to be hazardous in traffic” (Shladover 5). Computers must take time to process the situation. While the computer processes, the environment around it continue to change making it easy for accidents to happen. “An (AV) will have to track dozens of other vehicles and obstacles and make decisions within fractions of a second. The code required will be orders of magnitude more complex than what it takes to fly an airplane” (Shladover 5). The computers require massive code which takes more time and money. A code that makes decisions that complex takes years to write. Proving that the AV meets proper safety takes a couple more
People around the world are constantly moving from place to place. Whether that place is work, a restaurant, or home, people require a means of transportation in order to arrive at a desired destination safely and efficiently. One of the most used means of transportation today are cars. Cars play an important role in the world’s economy by transporting goods and people. Automobiles have come a long way since Ford’s first Model T, and the auto industry plans to further enhance the technology and capabilities of the cars that drive on our roads. New technological advancements like rear-view camera, self parking, and auto braking have greatly improved the overall safety of cars today. However, one of the most talked about ideas are autonomous
Self-driving cars are the wave of the future. There is much debate regarding the impact a self-driving car will have on our society and economy. Some experts believe fully autonomous vehicles will be on the road in the next 5-10 years (Anderson). This means a vehicle will be able to drive on the road without a driver or any passengers. Like any groundbreaking technology, there is a fear of the unforeseen problems. Therefore, there will need to be extensive testing before anyone can feel safe with a vehicle of this style on the road. It will also take time for this type of technology to become financially accessible to the masses, but again alike any technology with time it should be possible. Once the safety concern has been fully addressed
1…2…3….Crash Distracted Driving is rampant on our roadways, killing hundreds each year. Unfortunately, it is easier than ever to drive distracted. Auto makers are putting technology into our vehicles that allows us to make phone calls, dictate texts or emails and update social media while we are behind the wheel – all actions that are proven to increase crash risk (“Distracted Driving: Problem of Cell Phone Distracting Driving”).
Technology is evolving faster than ever these days, however there is one technology that could revolutionize the transportation industry. This technology is called autonomous cars, also known as self-driving cars. Autonomous cars can be defined as a vehicle that is capable of sensing its environment, and navigating without human input. Using different techniques such as GPS and radar, autonomous cars can detect surroundings, thus removing the human element in driving. This would have a positive effect in more ways than we could ever imagine. Research suggests that self-driving cars will become more abundant in the future because they will be more cost-effective, enhance safety, and decrease traffic congestion.
Accidents involving distracted drivers by their cell phones and other electronics have become a bigger concern (Christopher A. Hart, 2015). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates that one in ten of the 3,092 deaths in car accidents were caused by distractions from cell phones (Hart, 2015). The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommends that unless of an emergency, the United States should ban the use of personal devices when driving. (Hart, 2015).The U.S. should take more precautions to cell usages on the road. During any point in the day there are about 660,000 people that are trying to use their phone behind the wheel of a car (Texting and Driving Accident Statistics, n.d.).
“Traffic is only one of the side effects of growth,” explains Roy Barnes. Barnes highlights how human overpopulation is having a negative effect on our daily lives. In the city of Los Angeles, CA, freeways are usually congested with vehicles, which cause long hours of traffic. According to RAND researchers from the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decision-making through research and analysis, Los Angeles traffic is the “worst in the nation” and affects “quality of life, economic competitiveness, and fuel economy” (Reducing). Drivers tend to get stressed or frustrated due to the number of hours lost stuck in traffic. Being aware and preoccupied with not causing a car accident, drivers cannot multitask
This does not only provide a nice chat when stuck in traffic jams, but can also enhance the way in which colleagues are appreciated resulting in better performances on the work. Carpool drivers feel not boring while drive even they drive in traffic jams. It is because they can make conversation with their passenger. It is different for employees who not a car pool. These particular people feel bored drive in traffic jams and ultimately their feeling change from happy mood to the bad mood. Thus, carpooling program that are arranged by employers make employees makes better performances on the work because their emotion does not change even stuck in traffic jams.
The burgeoning cities population is attributed to transport inefficiencies in urban areas. Traffic congestion arises when the demand for road exceeds the capacity of the available infrastructure. It is estimated that traffic inefficiencies cost Nairobi city 50 million shillings daily, which translates to 18.2 billion shillings annually through lost productivity, fuel consumption and environmental pollution (Mungai, 2012). ICT, which involves storage, retrieval, manipulation, and transmission of information electronically, is the basis of modern intelligent transport systems and the ever growing mobile phone technology which are transforming the transport sector.