Autonomous Vehicles

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:

• Limited reliance on drivers
• Less wages
• No need for limited hours
• No need for driver training and turnover
• Lower fuel and maintenance
• More utilization of trucks since there is no need for drivers to rest.

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