Governor’s Safety Conference
Presented by Nicole Bellet – State Farm Insurance
The presentation was presented by the Child Protective Seat folks and State Farm Insurance, and they started off with a basic 3 step or phase implementation of autonomous vehicle development. The theory is that autonomous vehicles will do to traffic safety what the autopilot has done for aviation. In theory, if we take out human error, we eliminate 94% of crashes.
1 – Prevent the Crash
2 – Passive Protection – built in.
3 – Active Protection – we have to do.
94% of serious crashes are due to human error. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA)2017
The concept of some level of Autonomous Vehicle (AV) has been around for a quite a while. It all started with the very first seat belt back in 1885, a very rudimentary leather belt designed to keep passengers in the earliest automobiles. Then again in 1950 the discussion began about anti-lock brake systems (ABS), and we began to see ABS standard on most automobiles. The following timeline illustrates the advances and the current plans for AVs.
NHTSA Timeline:
1885 First seat belts
1950 – 2000 Anti-Lock Brakes
2000 – 2010 Electronic Stability
Blind Spot Detection
Forward Collision Warning
Lane Departure Warning
2010 – 2016 Rear View Video Systems
Automatic Emergency Braking
Pedestrian Automatic Emergency Braking
Rear Automatic Emergency Braking
Rear Cross Traffic Alert
Lane Centering Assist
2016 – 2025 Lane Keeping Assist
Adaptive Cruise Control
Traffic Jam Assist
Self – Park
2025+ Highway Autopilot
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has developed 6 levels of automation in relation to AVs.
SAE Levels of Automation
0 No Automation. Human in 100% Control
1 Driver Assist. Driver assistance system has control over braking or steering while the human performs all other tasks.
2 Partial Automation. Driver assistance system has control over both steering and braking/acceleration simultaneously while the human performs all other driving tasks.
3 Conditional Automation. Automated driving system controls all aspects of dynamic driving, with the expectation that a human will respond to a request to intervene.
4 High Automation. Automated driving system on the vehicle will do all dynamic driving in all tasks, even if the human does not respond to a request to intervene.
5 Full Automation. Automated driving system has full-time performance of all aspects of the dynamic task of driving under all roadway and environmental conditions. Testing 2027 – 2030
They are starting Level 5 testing in the trucking industry. They will be starting with the class 8 semi – trucks. They discuss the first mile, middle mile, and last mile. The first mile being from pick-up to transfer point, middle mile being between transfer points, the last mile being from transfer point to the destination. They are starting with the middle mile, between transfer points. Then move on to the first mile.
Benefits:
So, that brings up some questions in my mind.
How will these trucks be powered? If diesel, how do they get refueled? If electric, how do they get charged? What size batteries are we talking about, and how much of the environment will be destroyed mining for the materials required for that size batteries? What will all of this look like? I am sure someone has thought all this through, but it is way above my paygrade.
The Department Of Transportation (DOT) does recognize that not everyone is on board with cars running around without drivers. Attitudes toward Autonomous Vehicles
42% Very Negative
16% Rather Negative
19% Neutral
12% Rather Positive
11% Very Positive
The future of transportation is Autonomous Vehicles 3.0, whether we like it or not.
I have reviewed much of this and a lot more information on the web at https://www.transportation.gov/av/3 please visit and read some of it yourself.
We do have avenues to voice our concerns with our elected representatives, and with direct input to the DOT.
In summary, we are much farther down the autonomous vehicle path than I had realized. I really believe that there can be some benefits, however, what is the cost? It has been reported about these vehicles failing to recognize motorcycles and pedestrians as well as other vehicles. As a RiderCoach, it concerns me that these vehicles may not recognize my friends, my peers and or my students.
Larry Geist
SafeRider, Inc. – RiderCoach