BY NIKOLA DJURKOVIC EDITOR IN CHIEF OF CARSURANCE
Nikola Djurkovic, Editor in Chief of Carsurance, and someone with a keen interest in, and knowledge of, driverless cars takes over the blog for a guest spot today.
Automakers are not the only participants in the
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Developed nations are also jockeying for position to be ready to accommodate autonomous vehicles at a large scale when they become ripe for mainstream adoption. So far, the United Kingdom is poised to finish first. The British government has been keen to populate the country’s roads with self-driving cars as soon as possible.
Autonomous vehicles are synonymous with a myriad of practical benefits. They promise increased efficiency and improved safety, for they could save all of us 250 million hours of commuting time every year and dramatically reduce traffic-related deaths by 90%.
Moreover, these electric cars are expected to lower fuel consumption by 40%, which could decrease greenhouse gas emissions anywhere between 87% and 94% per mile.
Apart from all of these perceived merits, the UK is also salivating at the prospect of generating an economic boost of £62 billion by 2030.
The country’s market for connected and self-driving vehicles has lucrative potential. What gives the UK the edge over its fiercest rivals, including Germany, the United States, South Korea, and Japan, is its progressive legislation and a more extensive network of roads.
Although the future where driverless cars is the norm right now feels more an eventuality than a possibility, two obstacles could cause the UK not to realise its vision with the current timetable.
Public Scepticism
The unwelcoming behaviour of other road users (non-autonomous vehicle drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians) is a factor that could slow the adoption of self-driving cars in the UK.
A recent survey revealed that autonomous driving technology worries 43% of British consumers. Their fear of driverless cars might stem from ignorance, but the government should not expect the public to be receptive to self-driving automobiles without raising awareness of what they actually do to ease any misconceptions.
Commercial Unavailability
The British government does not just want to see driverless cars roaming around the country by 2021; it’s also committed to adopting fully autonomous vehicles soonest. This ambition is bold but not feasible.
Aston Martin CEO, Andy Palmer, said that robotaxis are likely to be introduced to geofenced areas in the next two to three years. However, the commercial distribution of level-4 autonomous vehicles, those that truly self-drive but only in carefully mapped locations, will not be around the corner.
Level-4 autonomous vehicles may be off-limits to ordinary motorists until the middle of the next decade. Level-5 autonomous vehicles, those that self-drive with no limitations, may not arrive in less than 20 years.
Wrapping Up
The uncertainties attached to the British government’s deployment of autonomous vehicles by 2021 could raise numerous legal matters. Regardless of how we feel about driverless cars, we must all be tuned in to the news surrounding them because they are coming whether we like it or not.
