Should we be worried about our safety when inside a self-driving car? Researching how safe our modern-day autonomous (self-driving) cars are may help you make decisions when you purchase a vehicle in the future. So, what exactly makes a self-driving car safe or unsafe? According to Safety Culture, each autonomous vehicle falls into one of 5 stages of autonomy.
The first stage requires the most human supervision as the car’s autonomy is mainly based on systems that assist the driver instead of taking over for the driver.
On the other hand, stage five is completely automated regardless of the circumstances. It’s these systems, when functioning as intended, that improve the safety of the vehicle for the driver, passengers, and citizens outside of the car, but should these safety features stop working. At the same time, on the road, it puts the driver, passengers, and others at risk as the driver may not be ready to take control and may have a delayed response in potentially dangerous situations from being too confident in the abilities of the autonomous vehicle.
What are some more risks when it comes to autonomous vehicles? Besides the risks I already mentioned, a few more risks of these autonomous vehicles are accidental activation of the autopilot system from physical or computer defects, the vehicle’s risk of being hacked due to relying on network connections to operate safely, which can lead to the car being stolen or your personal information being stolen and possibly even allow hackers use the hacked vehicles for acts of terrorism, and minimized driver interaction because drivers will not pay as much attention to the road. However, this is the whole purpose of an autonomous vehicle. At the time of writing, drivers will still need to pay attention to the road in case they need to step in should the system fail, but once the technology is perfected, the vehicle will operate on its own. It won’t require the driver or a motorist to pay much attention.
So why might one get an autonomous vehicle? As I briefly went over earlier, when the features and system inside the car are working as intended with no issues or delays, then autonomous vehicles become safer and more efficient than non-autonomous vehicles as the system can find a faster or better route to a destination saving your fuel, money, and time while also reducing the emissions your vehicle emits during your time on the road. Many experts, such as Kia, have said, “Self-driving cars can be trained to be safer than human drivers.” This is primarily thanks to the sensors and cameras monitoring and guiding these cars to not only sense the environment around them but also anticipate what’s coming up ahead and eliminate human error.
While autonomous vehicles are still in their early stages of development, they have the potential to revolutionize the way we travel in the future. So, let’s embrace this exciting new technology with caution and watch for further developments in autonomous vehicles.
