AVs could make driving ‘more dangerous’: report

Automated vehicles (AVs) could make driving more dangerous – that is the stark suggestion from a new report by the International Transport Forum (ITF). The report - Safer Roads with Automated Vehicles? – casts doubt on claims that 90% of road deaths could be avoided because the introduction of AVs would eliminate human error. ITF says such claims are at best “untested”.
May 23, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Automated vehicles (AVs) could make driving more dangerous – that is the stark suggestion from a %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external new report false https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/docs/safer-roads-automated-vehicles.pdf false false%> by the 998 International Transport Forum (ITF). The report - Safer Roads with Automated Vehicles? – casts doubt on claims that 90% of road deaths could be avoided because the introduction of AVs would eliminate human error. ITF says such claims are at best “untested”.


“Shared responsibility between robot and human drivers can in fact lead to more complex driving decisions,” the report goes on. “The unintended consequences might make driving less safe, not more. In situations where humans take over control from robots, more crashes might occur among ‘average’ drivers who normally do not take risks.”

This is particularly likely in circumstances where drivers must take over from automated driving in emergency situations, ITF says.

While full automation could therefore reduce the number of severe crashes “significantly”, the problem with partially automated systems is that “humans retain an advantage in many contexts”. Overcoming this gap requires multiple sensors and connectivity with infrastructure – but cybersecurity risks means that “the avoidance of crashes should never depend on access to shared external communication channels alone”.

ITF recommends designing AVs so that safety-critical systems are “functionally independent and cannot fail in case of connectivity issues”.

The report comes as preliminary 2017 figures suggest a slight decrease in the number of road deaths. In 2017, only five out of 29 countries of the International Road Traffic Data and Analysis Group registered increases of 2% or more in the number of road deaths compared to 2016. Traffic fatalities fell year on year in 20 countries.

Networking & Communication Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • NTSB: Uber’s AV in fatal crash ‘had software issues’
    November 6, 2019
    The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has found that an Uber autonomous vehicle which killed Elaine Herzberg last year had software flaws. NTSB released a report which says the Volvo XC60’s autonomous system software classified the pedestrian as an unknown object and determined that an emergency braking manoeuvre was needed to mitigate the collision. Uber confirmed that emergency braking manoeuvres must be carried out manually and the system is not designed to alert the driver. Data
    Read More
  • Self-driving bus collides with pedestrian in Vienna
    July 24, 2019
    A self-driving bus trial in the Austrian capital Vienna has been halted after a collision between a vehicle and pedestrian, says Bloomberg. Authorities are now investing the cause of the incident which led to minor injuries. According to Bloomberg, state broadcaster ORF says the Navya vehicle was driving at 7.5 miles per hour when it hit the 30-year-old woman in the knee. In a statement given to The Verge, Navya said witnesses had seen the pedestrian wearing headphones and looking at a mobile phon
    Read More
  • Uber suspends Barcelona service after new regulations introduced
    February 5, 2019
    Taxi-hailing giant Uber is suspending its service in the Spanish city of Barcelona. The move comes after new regulations were passed by local authorities, according to Reuters. The company started its UberX service in the city last year. But from now on, passengers using ride-hailing services will have to wait at least 15 minutes after booking a ride before they can be picked up – thus negating one of the key selling points of companies such as Uber. Speed and convenience – as well as cost – are w
    Read More
  • NACTO releases ‘blueprint’ for AVs in cities
    September 13, 2019
    Autonomous vehicles (AVs) must be part of future transport policies which prioritise efficiency and fairness, according to senior transport executives in the US and Canada. The second edition of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO)’s Blueprint for Autonomous Urbanism sets out what it calls “the concrete steps that will need to be taken to ensure an equitable, people-first city”. NACTO is a collection of 81 North American cities and transit agencies which exchange ideas and coo
    Read More

Highlighted Content