Bye-Bye to Traffic Lights

With the autonomous cars taking efficiency at hand, one area that could see a good deal of change would be the streetlight and how the new technology would make them of a more archaic nature.In one Readwite article, this topic gets some deserved attention, and this is one where I agree that this change could be for the better. Since the cars will be doing the communication amongst each other, it makes for more systematic decision making, therefore working off of those reliability and efficiency factors.
One point to make is how since the basis of these self driving cars is the interaction with its environment, including other cars, will work to make more efficient use of the surroundings to make better judgement of when to turn than current stoplight technology permits. The current system of wrapping cars together that are going one way and working with another group going another is a lot more general and occasionally more time consuming. With autonomous vehicles taking over the control, more individual decisions can be made, and therefore it would become much more organized than our current system.
While I don’t believe that all  traffic lights will become obsolete with them, those where the car can make better judgement that not only benefits the passenger but also other drivers I feel will not necessarily last the test. What these cars wil do better than a traffic light is take into account the individual cars rather than clustering as a whole. While this will not be so much an immediate change as not everyone will change right away to the autonomous cars, it will be one to keep in mind as the technology becomes further widespread in the years following the release.

Who Would Be At Fault?

This is a topic that has current policymakers scratching their heads as on one hand there is a person behind the wheel, but on the other, there is an operating system controlling it. And while I understand there is going to be much debate, it is one where I believe that when the system is under control, then it would fall under that jurisdiction, but when it is human error, than it should be treated as such.
Multiple sources, Such as the San Diego Union Tribune, work to how the complications of who to point the finger will be the biggest delay, if not the piece that holds the widespread public release. In August of 2011, Google’s self driving car logged its first accident, and at first glance it may seem like a bad start, but it has been reported that the accident was caused at human error. The technology is still in the adolescent stage, but maturing rapidly, and in this stage humans have to take over some function that has not been cleared for software control. This factor is what I feel makes all the difference in determining the acceptance of fault or the scapegoat at hand.
One method of ways of handling such incident is having the vehicle itself under a newer form of insurance, that would not only protect the driver from liability if it was an accident under the software control, but also the manufacturer as it would be a separate entity.
Overall as there is time before these will hit the public market, lawmakers can work out the policies as the technology becomes more clear cut, and I feel that this would be much of a hinder on the release, but rather a better form of protection for the claims process in the liability sense.

To Let a Blind Person “Drive?”

With autonomous vehicles approaching the eventual public release, one subject remains at hand; Would the un-licensed drivers be able to get behind the wheel of these cars?
In North Carolina, to be able to enroll in drivers education classes you must be at least 14 and a half and to have a permit you must be 15. With the potential for these self driving cars on the road truly at both large safety and efficiency advantages, there has been talk of who will be able to start the engine. According to surveys run by a group known as the Open Roboethics Initiative, 52% of respondents agreed that children under the legal driving age should not be allowed to operate the car alone, however 58% agree that a legally blind person should be allowed to do so. While some may object to these opinions, I must go on and agree with them.

What I feel the survey lacks is inclusion of certain factors, such as how for one thing while it is of common knowledge that a child in the front seat is dangerous to their life in the result of an accident, it does not mean that the child would necessarily be in the front seat of this car. With this comes what I feel are some of the main points to keep in mind that the potential use to get those without normal capability to get from point A to point B, arises with putting the situations into place. An elderly person would be able to safely get behind the wheel, and with the car controlling the actions, it adds freedoms to those that otherwise wouldn’t have such. A person with no vision would be able to feel more of a part of an independent lifestyle as they would be able to get themselves where they need to go. With that in mind I feel that such technology would benefit greatly those without the common means to get around in traditional vehicles, but with this efficiency at hand, I must agree with the opinion of allowing disabled to operate the autonomous cars.

All Aboard the Road Train

The Safe Road Trains for the Environment (SARTRE) Project is a current innovation aiming on making trips on the road . While legislation is not fully on board with the concept as regulations are still being put in the works, I would say that the practicality of the road train is just something that would be extremely beneficial towards changing the way people do roadtrips. Speeding is constantly regarded as a factor in motor vehicle accidents, and the SARTRE Project works to elimitate the driver speeding as the lead vehicle would be following regulations, and thus leading the following cars to the destination in a more safe manner.
A breakdown of some of the benefits of this vehicle integration includes:
-Safety- With the lead vehicle taking the motions into account, those following would be able to relax and add productivity to the trip as well.
-Environment- With the cars following a uniform pace, the emissions would be at around twenty percent less than if separate.
-Traffic- With smoother traffic flowing in and out, congestion on major roadways would be reduced.
With more benefits on the horizon as the project becomes more tuned towards an ever growing technogical foundation, the possibilities for potential application is countless for this. Currently tested under Volvo Motors, one use that could be seen with this applied is for moreso of the commercial sense. With tractor trucks logging miles after miles on these roadways, with the safety and efficiency increased with this technology, business and drivers benefit from this inter-vehicle comminication.
Overall while current laws and regulations have to be adapted towards putting this project on the road, it should become a sight on roadways within a decade’s time.

The One Car You Won’t Drive

One new innovation in the works that is receiving a good bit of criticism is the concept of autonoumous cars. With several leading carmakers such as GM and Audi looking into this future of putting the “auto” in automobiles, it is Google which is staking its claim in the race to achieve the earliest success. While these breakthroughs in technology are right around the corner, Top Gear goes to bash on the public testing, and inevitable release of these cars to the general population as well.

While their reasons to oppose the concept are reasonable, I believe that their did not look into the current bugs already acknowledged by the automakers, and how they are being taken car of. Google’s example of the vehicle is one which has been pushing laws to progressively work these self driving cars onto the roads, and with four states currently on board, it is going to be a piece of tomorrow without a doubt. Currently the vehicles drives with a top speed of 25 mph for safety reasons, and it does require human intervention on some scenarios, but this is in the works as well. Google has logged over 700,000 miles on this concept, it is still being placed in the test phase, but with high hopes for market visibility by 2020. With the release essentially on the horizon, these self driving cars would be a component to revolutionize the fields on driving, and the public release would seek to test this.

The rationale for this idea is grande on more reasons than one, and with the safety aspect leading the case for it, I would say that the release would be one of high praise to the dawn of roads revolving around safety and efficiency for a better tomorrow.

 

“Let’s Drive to New York for Less Than $15”

With the ability to go from Wilmington, NC all the way to New York City on a single tank of gas, with extra to spare, Elios Motors new vehicle intends on making an impact on the current fuel economy. While there is support for production,specifically 38,593 reservations as of last week, there are a number of critics of the Elio that are suggesting that the quirky style of the design won’t make it the most practical.
One key piece that opponents of the Elio are making is how the vehicle is how this in legal terms, is not a car. Being under 1,500 pounds in weight and only three wheeled, the vehicle falls under the motorcycle category. With that being said, North Carolina § 20-140.4 requires that driver and passenger must wear a helmet to drive on the public roads. This loses some potential customers as not everyone wants to wear a helmet while inside a vehicle, however North Carolina is one of only five states with the helmet law applying to Elio, so unless one would be driving to Missouri, Nebraska, West Virginia or Mississippi, no helmet is required.
Aside from that aspect, the place where Elio garners most of its support for is practicality. Getting 84 MPG with an ability to get up to a staggering 672 miles on a single tank, support is here with the car being a very efficient touring vehicle, effortlessly beating out motorcycles such as Honda’s CB500X with 66 MPG and cars such as Toyota’s Prius with 51 MPG. With that in mind the $6,800 base price tag attracts plenty of looks, and with the price of gas averaging under $2.14, makes trips such as that to the “Big Apple” within reach.

About

This is an automotive centered blog by Jarrell McQueen. With emphasis on rising trends in automotive ingenuity, I’ll work to shine light onto some of many topics to cover, and with that in mind, drive on