PREPARING FOR A DRIVERLESS FUTURE

摘要

In 1895, Thomas Edison called the nascent horseless carriage "a great invention," facilitating commerce that would enrich a country "just as much as the discovery of vast hoards of gold." It didn't take long for others to embrace Edison's view. The rapid 20- to 25-year shift from draft animals to an automobile-centric landscape now is often cited as precedent for the transformative effect of transportation's latest game-changers-connected and autonomous vehicles.In what seems like the flash of a headlight, the technology of computer-dominated mobility has advanced AVs from whiteboard chatter to on-the-road reality. And from a safety standpoint, that's welcome news. An estimated 90% of the more than 6 million reported vehicle crashes each year are caused by human error. Add to that the U.S. Dept. of Transportation's estimate that nearly 6,000 pedestrians were killed by vehicles on public roads in the U.S. in 2016, the highest number of such fatalities since 1990. While AVs do not promise zero accidents, the reduction of human error is likely to improve safety on the roads.