The Road Ahead: Examining the Safety Impact of Automated Vehicles
Trung Bui
Purdue University
INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND
In the United States, over 38,824 The Society of Automotive Engineers
died in motor vehicle crashes in (SAE) has defined six levels of
2019, with an estimated 94% of vehicle automation, providing a
serious crashes due to human error standardized taxonomy for
(NHTSA, 2020). As automated describing the capabilities of
vehicle technology rapidly advances, automated driving systems (SAE
many experts predict that these self- International, 2016). These levels
driving cars could dramatically are:
reduce accident rates and
revolutionize road safety. Proponents Level 0 (No Automation): The human
argue that by eliminating human driver is responsible for all driving
error and inefficiencies, automated tasks, and the vehicle has no
vehicles have the potential to save automated driving features.
countless lives and fundamentally
change transportation as we know it.
However, skeptics raise concerns Level 1 (Driver Assistance): The
about the current limitations and vehicle can assist with either
safety risks of this still-developing steering or acceleration/deceleration,
technology. As automated vehicles but not both simultaneously. The
move closer to widespread adoption, human driver is responsible for
it is crucial to examine whether they monitoring the environment and
will ultimately make our roads safer controlling the vehicle. Examples
or introduce new dangers. The include Advanced Driving Assistance
current state of automated vehicles, Systems (ADAS) operations such as
with their systemic randomness and adaptive cruise control and lane
inadequate testing, presents centering.
significant safety risks that cannot be
ignored. Despite the potential Level 2 (Partial Automation): The
benefits, this paper will argue that vehicle can control both steering and
the dangers posed by the current acceleration/deceleration
limitations of automated vehicle simultaneously under specific
technology outweigh the advantages conditions, such as highway driving.
However, the human driver must
constantly monitor the environment
and be ready to take control at any
moment. Tesla's Autopilot is an
example of a Level 2 system
(Goodall, 2023).
RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN © 2022
www.PosterPresentations.com
