Skip to main content

WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff - Driving towards driverless

WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff US-based manager for Sustainable Transportation Lauren Isaac, who is to speak on connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV) at the forthcoming ITS World Congress in Melbourne, suggests in a research paper, Driving Towards Driverless, that new AV world will be either a nightmare or utopia. She suggests that which scenario plays out will largely depend on the amount of vehicle sharing future road users are prepared to accept. For example, close to full automation and ride sharing would e
October 7, 2016 Read time: 2 mins

6666 WSP/4983 Parsons Brinckerhoff US-based manager for Sustainable Transportation Lauren Isaac, who is to speak on connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV) at the forthcoming ITS World Congress in Melbourne, suggests in a research paper, Driving Towards Driverless, that new AV world will be either a nightmare or utopia. She suggests that which scenario plays out will largely depend on the amount of vehicle sharing future road users are prepared to accept. For example, close to full automation and ride sharing would equal utopia, while the opposite would result in a ‘driverless nightmare’ situation.

“Of utmost importance is finding a balance between guarding public safety while regulating insurance/liability and simultaneously encouraging investment in research and development of driverless vehicles and their implementation and integration into our transportation system,” she says.

Isaac says it is government action – now and in the future – that will determine how AVs are integrated into society and if the impacts are largely positive or negative.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Hawaii backs road user charging to replace fuel tax
    August 7, 2019
    Fuel tax revenue in Hawaii is falling - and even in paradise, someone has to pay. Adam Hill talks to Hawaii DoT’s Scot Uruda about a major change in the way the state funds road improvements All over the world, governments, transportation agencies and local authorities are casting around for new forms of revenue as the money from taxes imposed on fuel begins to trickle away. Spending is outstripping tax take as a combination of more efficient internal combustion engines and the increasing take-up of cars
  • WSP brings mobility to market
    October 4, 2022
    Transportation agencies can benefit from bringing numerous services together, WSP says
  • American Center for Mobility plans connected vehicle test centre in Michigan
    December 20, 2016
    WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff has been awarded a contract by the American Center for Mobility (ACM) to develop a concept of operations, system requirements, and a procurement strategy for the technology elements of a major new connected and automated vehicle test site facility. The ACM will be built on more than 335 acres adjacent to Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, where B-24 bombers were made during World War II in a factory built by Henry Ford. It aims to become a national advanced automotive testing and p
  • Women driving innovation in mobility
    March 9, 2022
    Transportation was built through the lens of men: that ecosystem needs to change