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

  • Sensor solutions cuts maintenance and emissions
    December 8, 2014
    The new raft of sensor technology can provide cost savings as well as additional functionality, as David Crawford discovers. Austria’s third-largest city, Linz, with a population of around 200,000, is recording substantial savings in its urban tram network within 18 months of introducing a new, high-technology approach to its public transport management. Tram, bus and trolleybus operator Linz Linien forms part of city utilities management company Linz AG, which has been carrying out a wide-ranging Smart Cit
  • Taking the long view of ITS
    March 24, 2015
    Caroline Visser believes the ITS industry must present a coherent case for consideration of the technology to become part of transport policy and planning. As ITS advisor and road finance director for the International Road Federation (IRF) in Geneva, Caroline Visser is well placed to evaluate quantifying the benefits of ITS implementation – a topic about which there is little agreement and even less consistency. She is pressing to get some consistency in the evaluation of ITS deployments through the use of
  • Robin Chase interview: Heaven and hell
    June 13, 2018
    A shared vision - or even much of a conversation at all - about what a better mobility balance looks like has been lacking…until now. Andrew Stone speaks to Zipcar founder Robin Chase about fairness – and the importance of not demonising cars
  • Iteris explores intelligent infrastructure 
    April 30, 2021
    Iteris and Continental will utilise automotive sensors and I2V connectivity