Navigating the Safety of Driverless Cars

Driverless “robotaxis” are being deployed to the public in cities nationwide to test the capabilities of artificial intelligence Waymo, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company, recently deployed fleets in San Francisco to accompany their other autonomous ride service in Phoenix (1) As the possibility of autonomous cars driving unrestricted on roads alongside humans inches closer, many questions still remain: What is the threshold for measuring the safety of driverless cars? What point of this threshold should be reached before self-driving can be fully deployed on all roads?

There is no easy way to answer these questions, but some companies have proposed ways to define this threshold. The RAND Corporation developed a framework for testing safety by using developmental stages that correspond with different testing sites Testing starts digitally with simulations, then moves to closed roads, and finally reaches real roads (2) While it might seem more sensical to collect data by deploying autonomous vehicles on actual streets, there are many complicated restrictions for driverless cars. Laws around autonomous driving are complex; the federal government’s responsibilities for vehicle safety overlap with local laws for state roads, and it hasn’t been determined how autonomous cars should be regulated differently from normal cars (3) Alongside varying laws, it also requires an immense amount of time and resources to collect data equivalent to human drivers (3).

But how do we decide if a driverless car is safer than one with a driver? Car accidents accounted for 42,939 deaths in the United States in 2021, but the implementation of autonomous vehicles could change this (4)

By: Julia Koontz ‘25 Opinions :

According to the RAND Corporation, waiting for the development of the “perfect” autonomous car will only result in more loss of life, while releasing autonomous cars that are just 10% safer than human drivers will save lives (5) However, it isn’t easy to convince the public to place their lives in the hands of automated vehicles. Surveys conducted in 2021 by the Pew Research Center found that 63% of Americans would not want to ride in a driverless car (6) The public uneasiness surrounding self-driving cars calls for companies to set high standards for safety and communicate them with the public. Without public approval, companies face the possibility of a lack of investments and profit

The ever-changing world of artificial intelligence is evolving before our eyes, and self-driving cars are at the forefront of these advancements As we move forward, communication between major tech companies and the public will be necessary to foster open conversations on safety, accountability, and accessibility With time and trust, the journey of autonomous cars will be worth undertaking as a step forward in transportation safety.

WorksCited

AutonomousDrivingTechnology-Learnmoreaboutus(nd)Waymohttps://waymocom/about/#story Fraade-BlanarL,Blumenthal,MS,Anderson,JM,&KalraN(2018)MeasuringAutomatedVehicleSafety: ForgingaFrameworkWwwrandorghttps://wwwrandorg/pubs/researchreports/RR2662html

Stewart, E (2019 May 17) Self-driving cars safety How safe is safe enough? Vox; Vox https//wwwvoxcom/recode/2019/5/17/18564501/self-driving-car-morals-safety-tesla-waymo Fatality Facts 2021: State by state (nd) IIHS-HLDI Crash Testing and Highway Safety https//wwwiihsorg/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/state-by-state#::text=Posted%20May%202023Kalra,N&Groves,DG(2017)TheEnemyofGoodEstimatingtheCostofWaitingforNearlyPerfectAutomated VehiclesRandorgRANDCorporationhttps//wwwrandorg/pubs/researchreports/RR2150html

1 2 3 4 5 Rainie,L,FunkCAnderson,M&TysonA(2022,March17)Americanscautiousaboutthedeploymentofdriverless carsPewResearchCenterInternet,Science&Techhttps//wwwpewresearchorg/internet/2022/03/17/americanscautious-about-the-deployment-of-driverless-cars/