Autonomous Cars essay

Autonomous Cars essay

Due to the rapid technological revolution in the world, automotive companies are in the haste of keeping up with digitized standards. The rush towards the development and manufacture of autonomous cars is the new talk in the automotive world of today. Big companies such as the Tesla, Volvo, Mercedes Benz, Nissan, Audi, and Toyota are proving to the world that the ideology can become a reality by modeling and testing the various concepts with their prototypes to ensure maximum safety. Autonomous cars have hyper-sensitive GPS sensors which help in their navigation and updated technology which is user-friendly. Generally, autonomous vehicles are believed to change the transport industry by incorporating future logistics for efficient transport. However, the production and integration of such cars into the market could create a lot of controversies with not only the insurance licensing companies but also the National Highway Traffic Safety administrations globally because most of them have not complied with the safety guidelines.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), autonomous cars’ manufacturers should classify their self-driving using the scale provided by the Society of Automotive Engineers. In turn, this regulation gives the three types of autonomous vehicles which include the conditional automated (SAE level 3), high automated (SAE level 4), and the fully automated (SAE level 5) self-driving cars (Gruyer et al, 330). The conditional automated level 3 vehicles have a lower autonomous intelligence facilitated by a lower-tier system that enables the vehicle to make a decision. However, if by any case it is unable to execute a command from the sensors human override is required.

Additionally, the high automated level 4 cars require no human interaction since they have a higher intelligence which is capable of intervening abruptly in case of a system failure. The intervention is executed by specific performances by the operational design domain (ODD) of the automated driving system (ODS). Lastly, full automated cars require entirely no human intervention. According to Gruyer et al, the SAE level 5 vehicles are fitted with the most responsive and unconditional automated driving system and non-specific operational design domain which helps the cars to maneuver through both off-road and complex terrains (333).

Debates in automotive insurance companies over autonomous cars could change some aspects of insurance. For a couple of decades since the emergence of automotive insurance companies, these companies are known to take responsibility of liabilities incurred such as accidents; however, the rise of self-driving cars could extend the liabilities’ coverage to the manufacturers and municipalities (Greenblatt, 47). Also, insurers will be forced to rely on usage-based insurance policies through telematic devices to monitor significant data from cars. The costs incurred by insurers on repair and replacement costs are expected to reduce due to the reduction of accidents by autonomous vehicles.

Consequently, currently, the insurance companies are concerned about the setting of premiums as they try to fit in the automated vehicle revolution. Basically, for non-autonomous vehicles premiums are awarded according to the risk profile of the driver; however, this criterion will have to change for the autonomous cars since they lack drivers. The criteria for awarding premiums to self-driving cars will be based on the risk profile of the vehicle. According to statistics from the NHTSA, in three years Tesla only three autonomous vehicle-related deaths; the recent accident happened in Arizona whereby a pedestrian was killed by a Volvo driverless car. These statistics reveal that insurance premiums are expected to go down.

Similarly, just as the traditional insurances set by different states in the United States, litigation plays a crucial role in ensuring autonomous cars. According to Geistfeld, regulation needs to be revised to fit the revolution of auto insurance; for instance, some states prefer no-fault insurance concept while others prefer the tort system of insurance (1611). However, insurers are concerned about the slow development in revising the existing auto insurance laws despite the potential insurance implication of self-driving cars.

In another context, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is in the haste of ensuring maximum safety since many people perish due to motor vehicle-related crashes. The NHTSA has integrated the automated safety technologies concerning the rising demand for autonomous vehicles in the United States. Since the self-driven vehicles have a high risk of cybersecurity threats, the NHTSA conducts safety assessments such as cybersecurity plans to protect users’ private data (Koopman & Michael, 92). Moreover, the administration has strategies to inspect the crashworthiness, human-machine interface, and the post-crash behaviors of autonomous cars. Koopman and Michael say that the NHTSA encourages manufacturers to build trust and confidence of the public through transparent testing and consideration of safety aspects in the automotive world (94). To address the safety measures, in 2017 the NHTSA released a safety framework to regulate the manufacture, testing, and distribution of self-driving vehicles.

However, the NHTSA believes that autonomous cars will improve road traffic efficiency and convenience due to their ability to ensure smooth traffic flow and reduce traffic congestion. Additionally, Brodsky assures that these cars would reduce accidents through their ability to reduce human error on the roads (851). The NHTSA affirms that most of the self-driving vehicles available are level 1 and two although more level 3 cars will be in the streets by 2030. The primary concerns of the NHTSA about the autonomous vehicles are perception, sensing and full control of the vehicles since they determine the safety of the vehicle as well as the passengers.

The attention of autonomous car training and testing is thriving fast in first world countries. In the United States, California has hosted more than 200 self-driving tests for most of the motor companies. However, Arizona broke the record for hosting Google’s Waymo, a level 4 autonomous car, in 2017 (Chang, 1). According to the American Automobile Association, 75% of the participants involved in its research declined driving in self-driven vehicles due to safety concerns. However, Chang affirms that Waymo has cleared this doubt since it has been tested for more than a million miles and has never experienced any safety limitations thus proving how autonomous cars will be safe (1).

In conclusion, self-driving cars will improve the standards of locomotion in the world. People will experience fewer difficulties and hazards in transport due to reduced accidents and traffic congestions. Considerably, safety is paramount in the transport industry; therefore, manufactures of the self-driving cars should ensure that they comply with the Self Drive Act and the guidelines provided by the NHTSA (Geistfeld, 1611). Besides, the NHTSA should consider erecting RFID tags on the roads at the intersections to increase vehicle-to-infrastructure communication to avoid collisions.