drive
Drive
Autonomous Autos
how to smartly steer toward a world of driverless cars
By Mark richardson
Whether We like it or not , driverless
cars are coming. But how will they
change our roads? Will commuting be
simpler, with no lights or traffic jams
because cars will be communicating
directly to each other? Or will traffic
be heavier as empty cars circle through
town on their way to collect passengers?
No doubt there will be profound
challenges for road users as new
vehicles become more and more
automated. “A huge question mark
hangs over this transition period, and
nobody’s really got the answer to how
we’re going to manage it,” says Ian Jack,
managing director of communications
and government relations for CAA
National. “I think the technology will
be there in five years, but humans and
infrastructure need to catch up—and
that’s going to take more time.”
Another key issue is privacy related
to the personal data of owners and
passengers that may be stored in cars.
On the official scale of vehicle
autonomy, where level one is a car
with basic cruise control and level five
is a car with no input at all required
of the driver (not even a steering
wheel), some production cars have now
advanced to level three. They can
automatically maintain the speed
of traffic, brake themselves in an
emergency, steer within their lane and
even change lanes safely with the touch
of a button.
Most researchers believe the most
fallible component of any drive is the
driver; computers can be taught to
see the road and respond to traffic
situations far more consistently than
any human. “All the studies that
we’ve seen have shown there will be
a major reduction in collisions—and
therefore fatalities—when the fleet is
fully autonomous. That’s why we’re
very supportive of the development of
autonomous vehicles,” Jack explains.
“But it’s very important that vehicle
manufacturers and policymakers keep
in mind the human dimension of
driving,” he adds. “And the implications
for personal privacy. That is, all the data
collection that will be required to make
autonomous vehicles function properly.”
On behalf of CAA, Jack recently
addressed the Canadian Senate’s
Transport and Communications
Committee to warn of the potential for
improper use of driver data. He told
lawmakers that many stakeholders in
the technology sector believe a single
vehicle will soon generate 1 GB of data
per second. He went on to describe a
2015 Tesla report that indicated the
company had collected 780 million
miles of driving data in the previous
18 months—and it now adds another
million miles every 10 hours.
“CAA has long held that vehicle
owners should be informed about what
data is being collected, and be able
to choose, within reasonable limits,
whom they share it with,” Jack says.
The goal should be for drivers to enjoy
the greatest amount of autonomous
features, while opting out of anything
that they feel infringes on their privacy.
There’s no doubt the road ahead
will be exciting, with many advantages
for safer driving and more accessible
transportation. But there will be
bumps along the way as we work to
find solutions for a future that is fast
approaching.
Learn more about CAA’s stance:
caa.ca/avs
CAA saskatchewan
fall 2017
21