Brookings Big Ideas for America by Michael E. O'Hanlon

Author:Michael E. O'Hanlon [O'Hanlon, Michael E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, Public Policy, General, American Government, National, Commentary & Opinion
ISBN: 9780815731313
Google: rv0JMQAACAAJ
Goodreads: 33258730
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Published: 2017-01-15T06:50:10+00:00

BENEFITS OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES

Highway deaths are a major problem around the world. In the United States, an estimated 35,000 people die in auto accidents each year. Worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, 1.24 million people die annually due to highway accidents.3 It is estimated that traffic fatalities cost $260 billion each year and that accident injuries account for another $365 billion. This represents a total cost of $625 billion annually from highway fatalities and injuries.4

According to a RAND Corporation study, “39 percent of the crash fatalities in 2011 involved alcohol use by one of the drivers.”5 This is an area where autonomous vehicles almost certainly will produce major gains in terms of lives saved and injuries avoided. Around 94 percent of U.S. vehicular accidents involve human error and therefore are potentially avoidable.6

Traffic congestion is a problem in virtually every large metropolitan area. In the United States, for example, drivers spend an average of 40 hours a year stuck in traffic, at an annual cost of $121 billion.7 Research by Donald Shoup has found that up to 30 percent of the traffic in metropolitan areas is due to drivers circling business districts in order to find a parking space nearby.8 That number represents a major source of traffic congestion, air pollution, and environmental degradation. Cars are thought to be responsible for “approximately 30% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions behind climate change.”9 Autonomous vehicles can save on fuel and provide benefits for the environment as a whole.

Automobiles are major contributors to poor quality air. According to a RAND study, “AV [autonomous vehicle] technology can improve fuel economy, improving it by 4–10 percent by accelerating and decelerating more smoothly than a human driver.”10 Since smog in industrial areas is linked to the number of vehicles present, having more autonomous cars is likely to reduce air pollution. A 2016 research study estimated that “pollution levels inside cars at red lights or in traffic jams are up to 40 percent higher than when traffic is moving.”11

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.