Self Driving cars are nearly here
Yet so far there is little reason to cheer,
since traffic fatalities were up 9% last year.
The ingenuity that outwitted alcohol prohibition in 1920
Is still present in all its abundance and plenty
and the features of car safety that seem an attraction
now also offer opportunities for increased distraction.
Perhaps human beings are the wrong species to obey
whatever science and good sense have to say
and automobile manufacturers may have to go the whole hog
by also providing drivers who combine robot with dog.
HzL
3/14/16
Traffic fatalities jumped unexpectedly in 2015, up 9% during the first nine months of the year compared with the same period a year earlier.
Yes, Americans are driving more, registering a record 3.15 trillion miles on U.S. roads last year, but that is only a 4% increase. Distraction—drivers increasingly using smartphones as they motor along at high speeds, drunken driving and drowsiness—no doubt is contributing to the trend.
A $20,000 Self-Driving Vehicle Hits the Road
As auto makers offer these option packages for as low as $1,800, they are being snapped up faster than electrified vehicles
General Motors is set to launch a new version of the Chevrolet Cruze. PHOTO: PAUL SANCYA/ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Obama administration has proposed spending $4 billion to accelerate autonomous-car technology during the next decade. For $20,440, you can get a Honda capable of driving itself pretty well on a highway today.
Honda Motor Co. is releasing automated safety features on its entry-level vehicle Civic LX sedan, a step that takes some of the most sophisticated technology on the market available and makes it accessible to significantly more buyers, including younger ones.General Motors Co., set to launch a new version of its small Chevrolet Cruze this year, is the next compact car in line to add advanced-safety bells and whistles.
This reflects a growing availability of advanced-driver assistance systems, or ADAS, such as lane-keeping assist, automatic braking or adaptive cruise control in the market. As auto makers offer the components needed to power these functions in option packages as low as $1,800, they are being snapped up at a far higher rate than electrified vehicles.
After a decade of spending much of its time and billions focused on boosting fuel-efficiency, Washington is increasing its focus on technology that could save lives.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is considering ways to make ADAS features more ubiquitous, and Congress will hold a hearing Tuesday from Alphabet Inc.’s Google X team and General Motors.
While federal officials and lawmakers ask questions, however, many safety advocates want Washington to immediately make these features standard on the millions of light vehicles sold in the U.S. each year.
This is a lot to ask of auto makers that still don’t make air bags standard in some emerging markets, and a lot to expect of rule makers with limited resources and tens of millions in annual vehicle recalls on their plate. But urgency is swelling.
Traffic fatalities jumped unexpectedly in 2015, up 9% during the first nine months of the year compared with the same period a year earlier.
Yes, Americans are driving more, registering a record 3.15 trillion miles on U.S. roads last year, but that is only a 4% increase. Distraction—drivers increasingly using smartphones as they motor along at high speeds, drunken driving and drowsiness—no doubt is contributing to the trend.
Auto makers are scrambling to accelerate autonomous technology. Tesla Motors Inc. has led the way with self-piloted features; Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz is proliferating ADAS across its lineup; and General Motors, planning to introduce a “Super Cruise” semiautonomous system on pricey Cadillacs next year, is sinking $1.5 billion into two Silicon Valley startups that could help its cause.
Still, a test drive in Honda’s relatively cheap new Civic shows how today’s technology convincingly and economically attacks a growing problem.
On a 25-mile commute in Metro Detroit in Honda’s new Civic, much of the drive can be completed with hands off the wheel and foot off the accelerator as long as lane markings remain visible and another vehicle is in front of the car. A camera mounted at the rearview mirror watches the road, and the car’s central nervous system tells components when to slow down, swerve or slam the brakes.
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