In 2015, the company Transport Systems Catapult (TSC), in collaborationwith the University of Oxford, tested their Lutz Pathfinder car on theroads of Milton Keynes, the first time an autonomous vehicle waspermitted by the UK government to travel on public highways. Furthertests involving higher speeds and longer distances have taken placesince, and UK Chancellor Philip has stated that driverless cars could bein commercial use on Britain’s roads by 2021. As a business owner ormanager, what are some of the benefits and challenges that you need toconsider, as it becomes more and more plausible that we acceptautonomous vehicles as the norm?
Road safety
It is estimated that up to 94 percent of road accidents aredue to human error or malpractice. Eliminating crashes caused by drinkdriving, tiredness, distraction and speeding could save thousands oflives a year. There have been a handful of incidents involvingautonomous vehicles, such as a shuttle-bus crash in Las Vegas in 2015,but as collision detection technology improves, our streets shouldbecome drastically safer in the coming years.
Less congestion
Fewer accidents mean less congestion but, there are also other ways in whichthe widespread adoption of self-driving cars could reduce traffic jamsand bottlenecks across the UK. Compared to human drivers, autonomousvehicles can travel closer together, as well as needing to accelerateand brake less often, contributing to a more even, steady flow oftraffic, particularly on motorways.
Business opportunities
In September, the government launched a “coordination hub”, for testing driverlessvehicles, based in Coventry and Stratford. Under the government’sConnected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) program, £100 million pounds isto be invested in schemes like this, to ensure that the UK doesn’t getleft behind in a global market that could be worth £907 billion poundsby 2035. The new technology could give the manufacture and testing ofdriverless cars, and secondary industries such as on-demand taxis androad freight a significant boost. Ride-sharing may well become the norm,with the majority of road-users renting transport with services likeUber, rather than purchasing a vehicle themselves.
Challenges
As with any significant technological development, the widespreadadoption of self-driving vehicles will bring challenges that, if notkept in check, could cause social disruption. Around a million peopledrive for a living in the UK, and if not adequately retrained, may endup facing long-term unemployment. The hope is that as autonomous vehicletechnology makes new industries viable, the overall number of jobopportunities will increase. We can expect a degree of apprehension fromthe general public, but overall trust in self-driving cars should growover time, as they become a part of everyday life. Unstaffed railservices such as London’s DLR have been with us for over 30 years, andare now taken for granted.
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