Self-Driving Cars Could be a Nightmare or a Blessing
Self-driving cars promise a lot of exciting things, the most important of which, are reduced traffic crashes and fatalities.
However, according to a study conducted by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Leeds, and University of Washington, the future of roads with self-driving cars wouldn’t be as simple as that. It’s likely going to be complicated as the road becomes a lot busier.
The rise of self-driving cars, according to the researchers, will lure more people to get on the roads. The elderly and persons with disabilities will be allowed more mobility. They would now be able to travel on their own. How cars are used is likely to change as well.
Driving will not be as stressful. People can hold meetings in cars and commuters can eat and watch movies on their way to their destination. Since a significant amount of time will be spent on roads, commuters will also find ways to make their journey productive.
Researchers believe this will cause a spike in traffic congestion as the number of miles traveled per vehicle increases.
How Traffic Congestion Can Be Resolved
News about self-driving cars isn’t all negative. The best case scenario, according to another report, is that driverless cars will help reduce traffic congestion. Since the technology is designed to be safer, the margin for error can now be reduced as well. This would result to narrower highway lanes.
However, this scenario still depends how the driverless cars will be used. The congestion could be avoided if people would agree to carpooling, instead of summoning the cars merely to run errands.
Another solution according to researchers is to match the type of vehicle with the number of passengers. This way, people will get to avoid wasting energy, and traffic won’t come about as often.
Safety Tips When Driving On Busy Roads
When driving on congested roads stay patient and take it slow. Zig zagging your way from lane to lane wouldn’t offer much help. It might only result to accidents and if you deem it necessary to switch lanes make sure to signal before doing so.
It is important to focus on the road condition ahead of you and maintain your distance from the vehicle you are following.
As a Kentucky Accident Attorney, I’m thrilled to see how self-driving cars will help make roads friendlier for everyone. But until then, always keep calm because anger will never improve a situation on a busy road. Should you run into reckless drivers, don’t compete with them; you should report them to authorities instead.