Driverless cars – be careful what you wish for! | Car Insurance News

 

There’s a cracking letter in The Times today from Andy Cole in Cleethorpes.

Mr Cole was responding to a claim by Professor John Miles of the University of Cambridge that driverless cars will reduce traffic congestion.

That’s certainly the accepted wisdom – driverless cars will be safer and better able to drive and park efficiently in all road and motorway situations. Their on-board sensors and satellite connections will steer them clear of trouble and enable them to avoid jams by identifying, in real time, the best route from A to B.

Wise words

I for one certainly accepted that wisdom. But Mr Cole has given me serious pause for thought.

He says the argument that driverless cars will ease congestion is inherently flawed. The very characteristics that are supposed to make cars safer, he suggests, will end up with them clogging the roads and worsening traffic congestion.

Mr Cole writes: “These cars are programmed to stop in the event of danger… Once people trust in the technology, pedestrians, cyclists and drivers of ordinary cars will take advantage, thus subverting the rules of the road.”

In other words, we’ll get to the stage where we’ll happily pull out in front of a driverless car at a junction or a roundabout, or step off the pavement in front of one, because we trust it to recognise us as a hazard and automatically apply the brakes.

And, of course, once one car stops (or even just slows by a touch in fast-moving traffic), the following vehicles will inevitably be affected – leading to queues and disruption.