No more drunk driving, no dozing off behind the steering wheel, no reckless overtaking. Could automated driving be the key to safe roads?
 | A driverless vehicle runs at a testing area during a media presentation in Berlin in 2007 (Photo: Reuters) |
Gone are the days when practically minded car owners could repair minor malfunctions themselves. Modern cars are full of electronics run by onboard computers and car mechanics have turned into IT specialists.
Some visionary car designers and scientists, however, believe we are still stuck in an automotive Stone Age. Their vision is a driverless car that computes all external and internal variables turning drivers into passengers, thus eliminating the biggest risk in modern road traffic: human error.
But it’s not just about safety. There would also be fewer traffic jams, because cars could drive in sync avoiding negative feedback while travelling closer to each other. According to a study from California Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH), only 5.5 percent of an average U.S. road is covered with cars—even when used at highest efficiency. And while a standard U.S. highway lane is 3.6 meters wide, even a large passenger car does not measure more than 1.8 meters in width. Human drivers need this safety margin, computer-steered vehicles could move much closer.
Cars would also use less gasoline, because in a better flowing traffic there would be less need for braking and acceleration. Driverless cars are also not prone to bad habits often found with human drivers. Fuel economy test made by the auto manufacturer Ford showed that avoiding excessive idling, aggressive driving, and exaggerated use of ACs can reduce fuel consumption by more than 20 percent.
Statistics from fleet owners like Schneider National, a U.S. based trucking company, also show a clear correlation between miles per gallon (MPG) and accidents. The company found that its 100 drivers with the best MPG ratio had a 37 percent lower accident rate than the 100 drivers with the lowest MPG.
 | Picture Gallery (click on the image to start)See what types of transportation are safe and where you run high risks. |
What is more, drivers would be free to read, sleep, or work instead of spending long hours focused on roads and traffic signs. According to data published by the U.S. Census Bureau, Americans spend more than 100 hours commuting to work each year with about 90 percent of these trips made in cars. This is more than the two weeks of annual vacation time, about 80 hours, taken by most U.S. workers.
In light of these potential advantages, it’s no surprise that scientists have been working on the idea of driverless cars for decades.
In the early 1980s, the European Union started to fund the Prometheus project, the Programme for a European Traffic of Highest Efficiency and Unprecedented Safety. Near the end of the project, scientists managed to send an automated Mercedes-Benz car over a 1000 km-journey on the German Autobahn. There was human driver on board for safety reasons, but the car drove more than 150 km at a time without intervention.
The prototype never made it into production, but many of the ideas used have gone mainstream. Today, cars are equipped with many tools that take control out of the driver’s hands.
An Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) takes over when drivers hit their brakes too hard. The system prevents the wheels from locking, avoiding skid. Electronic Stability Control (ESC) can override drivers’ decisions when they are about to loose control of their car. And just as ESC built on the achievements of the ABS, more sophisticated safety features will build on the sensors and computing power used for ESC.
But it will still take a long time before human drivers become redundant. First of all, manufacturers are wary of taking on all the risk themselves, says Fred Wegman of the Dutch Institute for Road Safety Research. “You have the problem where manufacturers become legally responsible for failsafe systems, and they refuse because there is too much risk that people will sue.”
What is even more important, driving is still regarded as a symbol of personal freedom, a highly emotional act. Many drivers are horrified by the thought of becoming mere passengers.
Wegman argues for partial automation. “Take the few people who still refuse to wear seat belts. The last step could be an interlock where you can’t start the car before putting on a seat belt.”
Many auto manufacturers are thinking along these lines. Nissan’s Safety Shield concept, for example, includes a number of sensors and proactive systems that provide drivers with more and better information, and intervene when a crash becomes inevitable.
So called adaptive cruise control systems measure the road ahead with laser or radar sensors to maintain a safe distance to preceding cars, using throttle control, downshifting, and braking if necessary.
Companies like Audi, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Volkswagen also offer automated parking systems for their high-end models that can park a car without intervention from the driver.
This gradual automation also has a psychological advantage. Some 20 or 30 years from now, we might still be thinking of ourselves as good drivers, while relying on the help of computers and sensors, and our trusted IT-specialist.
editor: Thilo Kunzemann
publishing date: May 5, 2009
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