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This paper summarizes the findings of a symposium and research on the implications of autonomous vehicles for cities and regions. It is intended for planners and local government officials involved in land-use planning, urban design, and transportation. Readers will learn about the need to plan for the potential benefits and negative impacts of autonomous vehicles […]
As long as robot cars roam public streets and highways, they will occasionally kill people. That’s the ugly truth that no on in the driver-less vehicle industry can deny. Will those robot cars kill people at significantly lower rates than drunk, stoned, tired, or distracted human drivers do now? Automakers, technology companies, politicians, and regulators […]
Tempe police on Wednesday released video footage taken just before an autonomous Uber SUV hit and killed a 49-year-old pedestrian. The video shows what the car and its safety driver could see before the collision with the woman and also offers footage of the driver. The safety driver, Rafaela Vasquez, appears to look down several […]
The death of a woman who was struck by a self-driving Uber in Arizona on Sunday has auto-safety advocates demanding that U.S. regulators and lawmakers slow down the rush to bring autonomous vehicles to the nation’s roadways. Don’t count on it. Efforts to streamline regulations to accommodate the emerging technology have been under way since […]
NHTSA has estimated that since 1960 more than 600,000 lives have been saved by motor vehicle safety technologies required by the FMVSS. Advocates is encouraged that autonomous vehicle (AV) technologies also hold tremendous promise to achieve additional safety advances and to decrease the number of motor vehicle crashes, fatalities and injuries. The advent of AVs, commonly […]
The big challenge posed by Secretary Chao is one we have recognized from the outset, and we totally agree with her today. However, this problem can easily be overcome by keeping all of the driver controls intact and installing and testing (by the vehicle purchasers) of a kill-switch that instantaneously turns over control to the driver. This can be phased out over […]
The connected and autonomous revolution is going to challenge the transportation industry tremendously, but updating infrastructure is only part of the equation. For transportation agencies, the greatest equation will be how to gather, process, store, share and analyze the data from CAVs. Transportation agencies must look to develop data platforms that incorporate data analytics to […]
Instead of cars driving as individual units on highways, automated driving systems (ADS) allow cars to connect and exchange information, enabling coordinated movements. That can mean more capacity on roads, and faster, more efficient travel. In one study, a car platooning proof-of-concept with five Cadillacs with automated longitudinal control was tested and evaluated at Aberdeen Proving Ground, a U.S. […]
Next year, General Motors Co. will no longer need an engineer in the front seat babysitting the robot brain that controls its self-driving Chevrolet Bolt. The steering wheel and pedals will be gone, giving total control to the machine. When GM starts testing its autonomous electric sedan in San Francisco ride-sharing fleets, it’ll likely be […]
Automated cars and light-duty trucks (from vehicles already on the road equipped with driver assistance technologies to fully driverless cars still in development) pose safety and infrastructure challenges for policymakers. Automated vehicles potentially promise transformative benefits in safety, mobility, and other areas. However, the successful development of these vehicles and technologies may pose a range […]
