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Older adults (>65 years) account for almost 20% of the population in the United States and prefer driving as their primary mode of transportation but are at greater risk for crash-related injuries and death, compared to younger drivers. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) may hold health and safety benefits for older drivers if this segment of the […]
A lane departure warning system (LDWS) has significant potential to reduce crashes on roads. Most existing commercial LDWSs use some kind of image processing techniques with or without Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and/or high-resolution digital maps to detect unintentional lane departures. However, the performance of such systems is compromised in unfavorable weather or road […]
Driver assistance technologies hold the potential to reduce traffic crashes and save thousands of lives each year. In 2019, 36,096 people died in motor vehicle crashes — many of these crashes were tied to human error. Learn more about driver assistance technologies, how they can help you, and what you should know about these technologies […]
In 2016, three veterans of the still young autonomous vehicle industry formed Aurora, a startup focused on developing self-driving cars. Partnerships followed with major automakers, including Hyundai and Volkswagen. CEO Chris Urmson said at the time that the link-ups would help the company bring “mobility as a service” to urban areas—Uber-like rides without a human behind the wheel. But […]
DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. and a self-driving vehicle company it partly owns will join with the Lyft ride-hailing service to offer autonomous rides on the Lyft network. The service using Ford vehicles and a driving system developed by Pittsburgh-based Argo AI will begin in Miami later this year and start in Austin, Texas, […]
Vehicle technology has progressed significantly over the past 20 years to the point where automated systems can now take on different aspects of a vehicle’s control. Because of their complexity, it is important that drivers understand their systems, their role and their function. Unfortunately, many studies have revealed that drivers have a poor understanding of […]
This document describes the current test tools and capabilities established at NHTSA’s Vehicle Research and Test Center (VRTC) for researching the safety performance of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving systems (ADS) in a closed-course setting. This paper focuses on immediate and future needs for ADAS and ADS closed-course testing and the requirements […]
In 2019, the Uniform Law Commission (the “ULC”) finished drafting the Uniform Automated Operation of Vehicles Act (the “Act”), which proposes uniform state legislation that would regulate the operation of automated motor vehicles.1 This report summarizes the key sections of the Act, identifies areas of legislation not addressed, and reviews the current automated vehicle regulation […]
Fully autonomous vehicles, which would carry out many or all of their functions without the intervention of a driver, may someday bring sweeping social and economic changes and “lead to breakthrough gains in transportation safety.” Motor vehicle crashes caused an estimated 36,096 fatalities in 2019 and are estimated to have caused significantly more deaths in […]
In the past several years, numerous studies have examined public attitudes, beliefs, and acceptance of automated vehicles (AVs) with mixed results. Some studies found participants had positive sentiments about AVs, while other studies found participants had neutral or even negative opinions about such vehicles. In several studies, even those participants who agreed that AVs would […]
