Driverless cars: Don’t ignore the human factor

Driverless cars: Don’t ignore the human factor

Tesla Motors has announced what is thought to be the first fatal accident in one of its electric, self-driving cars that was under its own control. Details are unclear, Tesla said the accident happened on a divided highway when a tractor trailer, or articulated lorry, drove across the highway “perpendicular to” the car and continued. “Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied”, reports say.

As well as being a tragedy, this sad incident could be highly damaging for self-driving car makers too, as they strive to overcome regulatory hurdles to their cars being allowed on public highways in lots of countries. A big part of their argument is that self-driving cars are safer – most unfortunately, we’ve got proof that is not always the case, although ultimately they probably will be much safer.

But it highlights lots of the highly complex issues, including and beyond technology. At the moment, this accident looks like both the technology and the human failed to detect and respond to danger. An obvious question is whether the victim was paying as much attention as they would have, had they been in control of the vehicle?

How do humans react to self-driving cars?

I heard a fascinating interview on the BBC with Dr. Alan Stevens, Chief Research Scientist and Research Director, Transport Laboratory in Surrey, England, and chair of the UK”s Intelligent Transport Systems Association. He is researching how humans react to automated vehicles, as drivers and other road users and commented, “Driving is not only a technical system, so when we have an automated vehicle, it is not only a technical endeavor, it’s also a social endeavor, as driving is, so it’s the interaction of vehicles that makes the traffic work.

Read more : https://inform.tmforum.org/features-and-analysis/2016/07/driverless-cars-dont-ignore-the-human-factor/