10 Reasons Autonomous Vehicles Are a Good Idea
There’s no escaping the fact that autonomous vehicles are the future of driving- or lack thereof. There are lots of advantages and disadvantages to this, but autonomous vehicles are becoming increasingly popular and more available for a reason. If you’re wondering why these vehicles will soon become the everyday norm, here’s a few reasons why they’re such a good idea.
Fewer Accidents
With more autonomous vehicles on the road, there will be fewer accidents. The vehicles are almost specifically designed to avoid accidents, making it safer for people to travel. Up to 95% of vehicle accidents are caused by human error, so when you take the possibility of human error away, the chances of accidents are dramatically reduced. However, the problem comes when two autonomous vehicles do end up in an accident. Who is liable?
Fewer Traffic Jams
According to research, a large percentage of traffic jams are caused by human behaviour. We’ve all been in a traffic jam where people in cars have become impatient and perhaps driven in inappropriate ways. Autonomous vehicles will help decrease traffic jams by using carefully controlled speeds and driving. In a way, they will even the playing field so no particular car gets the advantage until it is the right time. There will always be traffic jams due to road maintenance and other occurrences, like accidents, but autonomous vehicles will behave in a way that humans often fail to.
Reduced Emissions
We’re used to bigger and heavier cars often creating the most CO2 in the air. However, that can change with the arrival of autonomous cars. These cars are programmed to reduce the emissions they use, and it’s predicted that they could help to lower emissions by a magnificent 60%. Even autonomous off-roaders with fuel wheels will leave less of a trace behind them. By 2030, the number of cars that do release a significant amount of emissions will be reduced dramatically and autonomous cars could be shared between families to lower the costs.
Better Lane Capacity
Have you ever been frustrated on the highway because someone has been hogging the lane? Perhaps the highway has been so busy you’ve felt like a snail trying to get somewhere. Autonomous vehicles will be able to increase lane capacity for all drivers. If there are dedicated lanes for autonomous cars, it could look like one continuous train on the highway. For cars using other lanes, there will be fewer cars in those lanes meaning drivers will get to their destinations far quicker than they do now.
Lower Fuel Consumption
Up to 10% of the average cars fuel consumption is because of the driver’s errors. Using an autonomous car will mean you won’t have to worry about those errors that cost you more money and damage the environment. Autonomous vehicles will have a much smoother way of accelerating and decelerating, meaning those extra bits of fuel consumption are less likely to occur. These vehicles will also economically use speed. So, as they become even popular in the future, it’s likely vehicles like trucks, buses and other larger vehicles will also become autonomous. That will result in huge levels of reduced fuel consumption and emissions.
Public Transport Help
Large cities are well-known for having public transport problems. Either the trains are packed full of bodies or there aren’t enough taxis to go around. You may be able to get a bus somewhere, but you’ll likely have to walk the last mile. Autonomous cars could fix this problem. Even if you’d rather get the train or bus to avoid adding to CO2 emissions, the cars could get you the last mile.
Transportation Freedom
There are still a lot of people who can’t gain access to any kind of transport. Elderly citizens or disabled people find it difficult to use public transport and adapting vehicles can be extremely expensive. Autonomous vehicles can help solve this problem. A driverless vehicle can go straight to the doorstep of a vulnerable person and transport them to their chosen destination. This means an elderly woman, for example, doesn’t have to worry about getting into a car with a person she isn’t familiar with. Similarly, a person with a disability doesn’t have to worry about a driver driving too fast or overcharging for mileage.
Reduced Costs
Autonomous vehicles may be able to reduce the time it takes to get from A to B by up to 40%. That means less time on the roads and fewer emissions. It also means there’ll be less need for man power. For example, autonomous vehicles won’t park where they’re not supposed to, so that could mean fewer parking attendants and traffic wardens are needed. It will also mean fewer drivers are needed. This may mean there are fewer jobs available, but when one industry falls another rises.
Better Taxi Options
The driverless car could be the taxi choice of the future. Not only will autonomous cars be faster at getting to destinations than the average taxi, but they’ll also be as eco conscious as using public transport. A driverless car could drop your average wait for a taxi from five minutes to just 36 seconds. It also means you’ll paying a lot less in a driverless taxi than you would in a normal taxi. In the US the cost is estimated at being just $0.5 per mile.
No Parking Issues
There are many cities in the world using up to a third of their land on parking. Autonomous cars remove the demand for that kind of parking. That means that more real estate would be available for housing or businesses, bringing in more money to the area. Autonomous cars would even be able to drop the user off at a specific destination and then go and find an adequate parking space until the user is ready for it to return. Driverless cars won’t need to park in spaces that are big enough to let drivers out, so the options are endless.
The future looks good for driverless cars.