Time for Driverless and a Guide for Governments

Burney Simpson

It’s Time for driverless vehicles. And government types just got a helping hand on understanding what’s coming down the pike.

Time magazine this week has a two-part cover story on the promise of driverless vehicles, and it is very positive, “The Increasingly Compelling Case for Why You Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Drive”.

This may be the article you share with friends and family when they ask what the heck it is you work on. But, as of today, the stories were not free online.

The article’s view in a nutshell is, “They’re going to change everything. The economic and safety benefits will be staggering. … Safer, smarter, faster, more comfortable. Why not?”

Much of the material has already been covered but the writing is breezy, informative, and pretty thorough.

There’s the promised benefits of greater safety, reduced deaths and accidents, cuts in congestion, and improved productivity.

On the challenge side there’s licensing questions, the ethical choice of hitting the kid or a wall, the possible end of auto insurance, cybersecurity threats, and data privacy issues.

The second part gets into technology like AndroidAuto and CarPlay and how this is already transforming driving. There’s a graphic on sensors and cameras, a snapshot of Virginia Tech’s testing grounds, and a mention of Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) technology.

PRIMER FOR POLITICOS

Parsons Brinckerhoff has released “Driving Towards Driverless: A Guide for Government Agencies” (this links to an intro page with a link to a document pdf).

The guide is brief and free.

It offers a handy, readable introduction to and overview of the industry for public officials. The timing is right considering somewhere around 30 states are looking at the technology in their current legislative sessions (See “Careful Steps on Driverless Laws for Tennessee, Virginia”).

The approach is a big picture view of planning issues that transportation departments and 20-year urban plan writer-types are thinking about.

It is written for government officials, from local to federal, including legislators and staff with DOTs, planning organizations, police, insurance, and so on; in other words all those offices that will be impacted by this coming technology.

Transportation consultants, auto OEMs, suppliers and others on the business side that interact with government could find it helpful as well.

The guide doesn’t get into the latest autonomous technology, connected vehicles, or specific issues like cybersecurity.

PB is a long-time consultant on transportation issues. The author is Lauren Isaac, a PB manager of sustainable transportation based in the firm’s San Francisco office.