Self-driving technology will help to push a new revolution in the transportation industry, according to tech experts.
Self-driving Technology
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on the statement of President Obama on the increased safety and other potential benefits of self-driving vehicles. The report also introduced a new set of rules released by the Obama administration for the autonomous vehicles. According to studies, 94 percent of vehicle accidents are due to human error, which means that autonomous driving technology could save each year "tens of thousands of lives."
The Atlantic reports that studies came to the conclusion that autonomous driving technology can cut crash fatalities by up to 29,447 lives in the U.S. annually, which means by up to 90 percent. Based on these conclusions, the U.S. government endorses the driverless car industry. New regulations were designed in order to help the emerging technology spread as quickly as possible and allow autonomous cars on the roads in a safe manner.
New Regulations for a New Industry
According to the specialized publication Glass, among the aspects of the car industry governed by the new federal regulations is also included the automotive glass. Many other safety aspects were touched by the new regulations that took a more preemptive approach. For instance, before launching car models on the market, automakers must clear their models with the department of transportation.
According to The Huffington Post, the Department of Transportation included within the new rules 15 checkups for the automated vehicles in order to be considered safe. As they develop new cars, companies will have to use these 15 points in order to test their vehicles before being able to launch them on the market. According to Vox, among these points covered in the guidelines are included aspects related to driver data privacy, how autonomous cars will make decisions and how they will react to technological failure.
The Future Of Self-Driving Technology
Driverless cars may still seem a futuristic dream, but they will become a reality on our roads much faster than most may expect. According to Mashable, there are already several carmakers that are planning to launch fully autonomous cars by the year 2020. Many cities already welcome driverless car prototypes on their streets.
According to ReadWrite, among the cities that have fully embraced driverless cars are included San Francisco, Austin, Phoenix, Kirkland, Wash, Boston, and Pittsburgh. These cities are establishing a reputation for themselves on the vanguard of self-driving car technology. Some of them are locations for pioneer institutes involved in research into self-driving cars, while others position at the forefront of the new technology by announcing tests of driverless cars on city streets.
