Monthly Archives: October 2016

Driverless cars will not steer us towards efficiency …

The Times, 16 September 2016,

It has been hailed as the ultimate gadget for commuters who cannot find enough time in the day. The driverless car promises to free precious minutes by allowing owners to check emails, call colleagues or even grab a quick power-nap on the way to work.

There’s one snag: academics believe that it will fail to boost productivity, and that motion sickness, passenger nerves and the fear of smartphones turning into lethal missiles in a crash would stop most owners getting the maximum benefit from their vehicle.

The study by the University of Michigan even suggested that British drivers could reap the least reward.

More than two thirds of adults surveyed in the UK said that they would not attempt “any activity in lieu of driving” in a driverless car — a greater proportion than respondents in the US, Australia, China, India and Japan.

Self-driving vehicles are being developed around the world to boost mobility and road safety. The government is backing a series of multimillion-pound trials, including one involving self- driving pods negotiating their way around pedestrianised areas in Milton Keynes. In the US driverless cars developed by Google have clocked up more than 1.5 million miles.

The study, from Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle at Michigan’s transportation research institute, said that the average car-owning American spent more than an hour a day travelling. However, the paper suggested that “self-driving vehicles currently are not likely to result in an improvement in productivity”.

It said that surveys of motorists suggested that “36 per cent would be so apprehensive in such vehicles that they would only watch the road”. A further 10 per cent suffer travel sickness that would prevent them working on a laptop or iPhone, it added.

The study also raises concerns that laptops or smartphones could go flying in the event of a crash.

Surveys of adults in six countries found that Britons were less likely to be interested in work, play or sleep while in a driverless cars than those in other countries. Some 67 per cent of Britons said that they would refuse to ride in driverless cars or would simply look out the window, compared with 38.5 per cent in India, 39.2 per cent in China and 58.5 per cent in the US. A total of 3,255 people were surveyed.

The disclosure was made as the House of Lords science and technology committee announced plans yesterday for an inquiry into the future uses of driverless cars.

The Earl of Selborne, the committee’s chairman, said: “If the UK is to be at the forefront of this transport revolution, investment into research is vital to ensure the technology is perfected, allowing the public to embrace the use of autonomous vehicles.