Autonomous vehicles are designed with integrated mechanical, visual, and sensor technology to enable them to drive independently on the roads. This robotic technology will have significant implications for future travel. Optimists foresee the production of reliable, reasonably priced, and safe autonomous cars in the next ten years. More companies have begun to deliver self-driving cars to the masses than ever before, yet indeed autonomous vehicles do not exist. Regardless of the existing speculations on the maturity of this technology, there are still many areas of concern that need to be addressed before these cars meet international road safety standards (Litman, 2020). General Motors has taken the lead in developing self-driving cars without steering wheels. Many other companies such as Tesla, BMW, and Mercedes Benz have also rolled out partially autonomous cars, especially in the luxury vehicle segment.
With the presence of autonomous cars on the roads, probably by 2030, accidents are expected to reduce by a large percentage. However, perceived uncertainties still raise questions of dependability due to limited performance. Most of the autonomous vehicles will be required to have steering wheels to allow human intervention in case they encounter unanticipated situations. Most people, especially among moderate and low-income households, will continue to use human-operated vehicles because the technology used to make autonomous cars is expensive, which means that they will attract high market prices. The taxi industry is predicted to benefit from this technology since the vehicles will have moderate operating costs in addition to expediency and comfort. Market penetration for the new vehicles will be slow and will probably peak by 2045 (Litman, 2020). By 2060, half of the cars on roads is expected to be entirely autonomous. This situation will reduce issues of driver stress and increase productivity, especially in the long-haul transport sector.
Reference
Litman, T. (2020). Autonomous vehicle implementation predictions: Implications for transport and planning. Victoria Transport Policy Institute. Web.