OPINION:
America’s lengthy love affair with the automobile is about to be put to the test. Self-driving cars, or as the techno-geeks call them, “highly autonomous vehicles,” are revving up to take over the road, and sooner rather than later. Giving up the keys to a collection of rolling computers will require adjustments.
Prevention of bodily harm to passengers as well as pedestrians is the key to a smooth rollout for the fleets of robotic cars, trucks and buses lining up now in the imaginations of designers. Indeed, thousands of experimental models have been polishing their reliability in test markets for several years. More are on the way. Elon Musk says he will have a million of his self-drive Teslas fanned out across the country by the end of 2020. Ford, General Motors, Uber, and Waymo and others are readying for the race.
The Society of Automotive Engineers has outlined a six-level path of driver assistance technology to complete machine control. Driverless cars currently undergoing street testing are operating along Levels 3, 4 and 5, ranging from conditional to full automation.
The big question is whether American motorists will be ready to get out of the way of the machines. Driving a car is still a lot of fun for a lot of us. So far, accommodation by the official regulators has been slow. The 115th Congress adjourned before passing two pending bills governing the operation of self-driving vehicles. One is called the American Vision for Safer Transportation through Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies Act, and the other is the Safely Ensuring Lives Future Deployment and Research in Vehicle Evolution. Only Congress could think up such argle-bargle; no wonder the legislation is stalled.
Twenty-two states have enacted their own laws to open their streets and highways to cars with smart navigation systems. Florida approved the use of self-driving cars statewide on May 1, and an accompanying OK to use cellphone apps to summon driverless rides.
The coming impact of autonomous vehicles on industries now employing professional drivers is obvious, and ominous. Technology that can pull man out of the driver’s seat and turn the steering wheel over to artificial intelligence threatens the livelihood of 3.5 million American truck drivers, and green-lighting machine guidance of ride-sharing operations could put millions of Uber, Lyft and old-fashioned taxi drivers at similar risk.
Smart cars are programmed to put a premium on safety, with emergency braking to bring a car or truck to a halt when a collision looms. Savvy programs can’t always make up for human error, however, and an Arizona bicyclist died under the wheels of a self-driving Uber test car last year. Investigators found its automatic brakes had been disabled.
As they proliferate, it is likely autonomous autos will be challenged by dumb human drivers making a game of cutting them off and foolish pedestrians deliberately stepping into their path to test the machines. Waymo reported 21 such incidents earlier this year.
In crowded cities like New York, pedestrians know the grave risks of being flattened in a crosswalk by drivers racing through a caution light. When the streets become flooded with driverless cars equipped with forward sensors, walkers may feel free to pour into the traffic lanes without a care, counting on approaching vehicles to brake automatically. Railings could be installed, of course, to keep pedestrians on the sidewalks, but doing so would undercut the reason for Americans to spend on advanced safety systems in the first place.
The challenge that autonomous vehicles pose for humans will be a mixed blessing. For the 41 million squirrels the Animal People Newspaper estimates die on U.S. roadways annually, vehicles piloted by collision-averse machines won’t come arrive enough. Clueless critters, animal and human, always pose risks.
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