Self-Driving Cars Will be Involved in Crashes

Autonomous vehicles will not eliminate automobile accidents. Proponents of autonomous vehicles insist that these automobiles will be able to prevent collisions and crashes that would otherwise occur due to distracted driving, human error, and human miscalculation. However, autonomous vehicles cannot control the behavior of other automobiles on the road. Safety must be prioritized over driver preferences if autonomous vehicles are going to become an integral part of commerce and trade in the United States.

The Rise of Self-Driving Vehicles

Companies like Uber, Lyft, and Tesla all produced optimistic data and research that almost guaranteed autonomous vehicles would be a dominant mode of transportation by 2021. Yet, the hope that autonomous driving would cut costs and increase transportation safety has not come to pass. Fatal accidents, misuse of technology, and faulty artificial intelligence have all hampered the executives and teams who wanted to place autonomous vehicles throughout the United States.

Only companies with significant capital can afford to continue investing in the autonomous vehicle market. Companies like Uber and Lyft wanted to cut costs and implement autonomous vehicles. Testing how these vehicles worked in the field produced fatalities and serious accidents. Ridesharing companies have largely pulled out of the autonomous vehicle market because the costs are too high and the AI is too unpredictable.

Researchers determined that autonomous vehicles could reduce automobile accidents attributable to drivers operating motor vehicles under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Passengers in autonomous vehicles want to control the speed of an autonomous vehicle, and this is one component that may lead to more automobile accidents. If a passenger controls the speed of an autonomous vehicle, then other drivers who may be reckless, negligent, or distracted are more likely to collide with an autonomous vehicle.

Addressing Safety Concerns

Robotics teams and artificial intelligence teams at major companies researching autonomous vehicles must discover how to account for the dangerous and reckless behavior of other drivers on the road. Autonomous vehicles must develop the capability of sensing drivers that operate vehicles in a reckless manner.

Autonomous vehicles will need to be able to adapt to specific road conditions that may change due to external factors. These vehicles must also be able to account for the uncertainty of other drivers. For example, an autonomous vehicle should be able to drive more slowly than a human driver would in an area with heavy fog or many pedestrians crossing the road.

Rider preferences like speed will have to be more regulated, and companies will have to make safety a top priority. Autonomous vehicles will never be as safe as human drivers if the companies designing autonomous vehicles fail to prioritize safety in their design programs.

Autonomous vehicles must become safer than human drivers. If companies continue to prioritize rider preferences over safety, then autonomous vehicles should not become an integral part of the transportation of goods and services in the United States. Programming autonomous vehicles to be safe will be challenging, but the results will be worth the wait.

A Plano Car Accident Attorney Can Help After a Crash

Car accident cases can have complex liability issues arise, including possibly self-driving technology. If you suffered injuries in the Plano area, a car accident lawyer from the firm of Joel M. Vecchio, P.C., can help. Contact us today.