While Google’s driverless car has generated buzz in recent years, most every major auto manufacturer has a similar project in the works. Nissan expects to sell one by 2020.
Benefits include fewer fatal crashes (more than 30,000 people are killed in U.S. car wrecks annually), increased mobility for the young, elderly and disabled, traffic flow and fuel efficiencies, and diminished need for urban parking. (About 31 percent of the nation’s major cities is now devoted to parking.)
“The major design flaw in automobiles is human operators,” said Richard Bishop, an independent consultant.
The drawbacks? Traffic congestion may increase as the technology is embraced by consumers. And adoption of driverless cars could retool our economy if fewer travelers take public transit, and as insurance responsibilities shift from the driver to car manufacturers.
Other complicating factors include a changing legal and regulatory landscape. Nevada, Florida, California, Michigan and the District of Columbia have enacted laws to regulate the use of driverless vehicle technology. But Dorothy Glancy, a law professor at Santa Clara University in California, warned that a patchwork of regulations and laws could inhibit the nascent industry.
Further, as vehicles grow more computerized, they also become more vulnerable to viruses and cyberattacks. RAND also notes that if the technology is not generally adopted, the price of driverless cars may be too high for widespread use.
©2014 the Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
