Policy Implications of Autonomous Vehicles, Volume Five in the Advances in Transport Policy and Planning series systematically reviews policy relevant implications of AVs and the associated possible policy responses, and discusses future avenues for policy making and research. It comprises 13 chapters discussing: (a) short-term implications of AVs for traffic flow, human-automated bus systems interaction, cyber-security and safety, cybersecurity certification and auditing, non-commuting journeys; (b) long-term implications of AVs for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and energy, health and well-being, data protection, ethics, governance; (c) implications of AVs for the maritime industry and urban deliveries; and (d) overall synthesis and conclusions.

The automotive industry appears close to substantial change engendered by “self-driving” technologies. This technology offers the possibility of significant benefits to social welfare—saving lives; reducing crashes, congestion, fuel consumption, and pollution; increasing mobility for the disabled; and ultimately improving land use. This report is intended as a guide for state and federal policymakers on the many issues that this technology raises.

This book takes a look at fully automated, autonomous vehicles and discusses many open questions: How can autonomous vehicles be integrated into the current transportation system with diverse users and human drivers? Where do automated vehicles fall under current legal frameworks? What risks are associated with automation and how will society respond to these risks? How will the marketplace react to automated vehicles and what changes may be necessary for companies? Experts from Germany and the United States define key societal, engineering, and mobility issues related to the automation of vehicles. They discuss the decisions programmers of automated vehicles must make to enable vehicles to perceive their environment, interact with other road users, and choose actions that may have ethical consequences. The authors further identify expectations and concerns that will form the basis for individual and societal acceptance of autonomous driving. While the safety benefits of such vehicles are tremendous, the authors demonstrate that these benefits will only be achieved if vehicles have an appropriate safety concept at the heart of their design. Realizing the potential of automated vehicles to reorganize traffic and transform mobility of people and goods requires similar care in the design of vehicles and networks. By covering all of these topics, the book aims to provide a current, comprehensive, and scientifically sound treatment of the emerging field of “autonomous driving".

Policy Implications of Autonomous Vehicles, Volume Five in the Advances in Transport Policy and Planning series systematically reviews policy relevant implications of AVs and the associated possible policy responses, and discusses future avenues for policy making and research. It comprises 13 chapters discussing: (a) short-term implications of AVs for traffic flow, human-automated bus systems interaction, cyber-security and safety, cybersecurity certification and auditing, non-commuting journeys; (b) long-term implications of AVs for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and energy, health and well-being, data protection, ethics, governance; (c) implications of AVs for the maritime industry and urban deliveries; and (d) overall synthesis and conclusions. - Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors - Presents the latest release in the Advances in Transport Policy and Planning series - Updated release includes the latest information on the policy implications of autonomous vehicles

When human drivers let intelligent software take the wheel: the beginning of a new era in personal mobility.

Better public policies can make the road smoother for self-driving vehicles and the society that soon will depend on them. Whether you find the idea of autonomous vehicles to be exciting or frightening, the truth is that they will soon become a significant everyday presence on streets and highways—not just a novel experiment attracting attention or giggles and sparking fears of runaway self-driving cars. The emergence of these vehicles represents a watershed moment in the history of transportation. If properly encouraged, this innovation promises not only to vastly improve road travel and generate huge benefits to travelers and businesses, but to also benefit the entire economy by reducing congestion and virtually eliminating vehicle accidents. The impacts of autonomous vehicles on land use, employment, and public finance are likely to be mixed. But widely assumed negative effects are generally overstated because they ignore plausible adjustments by the public and policymakers that could ameliorate them. This book by two transportation experts argues that policy analysts can play an important and constructive role in identifying and analyzing important policy issues and necessary steps to ease the advent of autonomous vehicles. Among the actions that governments must take are creating a framework for vehicle testing, making appropriate investments in the technology of highway networks to facilitate communication involving autonomous vehicles, and reforming pricing and investment policies to enable operation of autonomous vehicles to be safe and efficient. The authors argue that policymakers at all levels of government must address these and other issues sooner rather than later. Prompt and effective actions outlined in this book are necessary to ensure that autonomous vehicles will be safe and efficient when the public begins to adopt them as replacements for current vehicles.

Fully autonomous vehicles, which would carry out many or all of their functions without the intervention of a driver, may someday bring sweeping social and economic changes and "lead to breakthrough gains in transportation safety." At present, no fully autonomous vehicles are available for public use. Many new vehicles have automated some driver functions, but all require a human to monitor the driving environment and control the vehicle. However, rapid advances in technology have made it likely that vehicles with high levels of automation will be on the market within a few years, raising questions about the adequacy of existing methods of safety as discussed in chapter 1. For this and other reasons, federal oversight of the testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles has been of considerable interest as reported in chapters 2 and 3. Chapter 4 examines the implications of autonomous vehicles on America's roadway infrastructure.

Americans are the most mobile society in history, yet their transportation system is on the verge of collapse. O'Toole explains how the nation got itself into such a mess and offers solutions for improving methods of transportation that will benefit everyone.

The Autonomous Vehicle (AV) has been strongly heralded as the most exciting innovation in automobility for decades. Autonomous Vehicles are no longer an innovation of the future (seen only in science fiction) but are now being road-tested for use. And yet while the technical and economic success and possibilities of the AV have been widely debated, there has been a notable lack of discussion around the social, behavioural, and environmental implications. This book is the first to address these issues and to deeply consider the environmental and social sustainability outlook for the AV and how it will impact on communities. Environmental and social sustainability are goals unlike those of technical development (a new tool) and economic development (a new investment). The goal of sustainability is development of societies that live well and equitably within their ecological limits. Is it reasonable and desirable that only technical and economic success comprise the swelling AV parade, or should we be looking at the wider impacts on personal well-being, wider society, and the environment? The uptake for AVs looks to be lengthy, disjointed, and episodic, in large measure because it faces a range of known unknown risks. This book assesses the environmental and social sustainability potential for AVs based on their prospective energy use and their impacts on climate change, urban landscapes, public health, mobility inequalities, and individual and social well-being. It examines public attitudes about AV use and its risk of fostering a rebound effect that compromises potential sustainability gains. The book concludes with a discussion of critical issues involved in sustainable AV diffusion.

The country's leading transport expert describes how the driverless vehicle revolution will transform highways, cities, workplaces and laws not just here, but across the globe. Our time at the wheel is done. Driving will become illegal, as human drivers will be demonstrably more dangerous than cars that pilot themselves. Is this an impossible future, or a revolution just around the corner? Sam Schwartz, America's most celebrated transportation guru, describes in this book the revolution in self-driving cars. The ramifications will be dramatic, and the transition will be far from seamless. It will overturn the job market for the one in seven Americans who work in the trucking industry. It will cause us to grapple with new ethical dilemmas-if a car will hit a person or a building, endangering the lives of its passengers, who will decide what it does? It will further erode our privacy, since the vehicle can relay our location at any moment. And, like every other computer-controlled device, it can be vulnerable to hacking. Right now, every major car maker here and abroad is working on bringing autonomous vehicles to consumers. The fleets are getting ready to roll and nothing will ever be the same, and this book shows us what the future has in store.