{"id":757,"date":"2017-09-07T10:00:09","date_gmt":"2017-09-07T10:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dealerfireblog.com\/buyherepayhereusa\/?p=757"},"modified":"2023-10-14T04:55:02","modified_gmt":"2023-10-14T04:55:02","slug":"safety-tips-learn-from-self-driving-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autosimple.com\/blog\/safety-tips-learn-from-self-driving-cars\/","title":{"rendered":"Safety Tips You Can Learn from Self-Driving Cars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Car technology is moving at a pace we\u2019ve never seen before. Self-driving cars will inevitably take over the roads, but not for a while. In the interim, we can learn important safety tips from self-driving cars to make our world a lot safer.<\/p>\n

There are many reasons why self-driving cars are safer than humans behind the wheel. We text, talk on the phone, get distracted, let\u00a0emotions take over, nod off, fail to signal, drink alcohol, take prescriptions, and much more.<\/p>\n

Since cars were first invented, we have added safety features that help reduce the chance of accidents, injuries, and fatalities\u2014seat belts, anti-lock brakes, air bags, etc.<\/p>\n

But no matter how safe we make cars, the least safe variable is always the driver.<\/p>\n

Over the last two decades or so, engineers, scientists, and car manufacturers have focused on removing the human element completely.<\/p>\n

In doing so, we can learn many tips for improved driver safety.<\/p>\n

The Problem<\/strong><\/h3>\n

1.3 million people die on the world\u2019s roads every single day. That\u2019s equivalent to over 8 commercial jet airliners (Boeing 747s) crashing every single day and killing everyone on board. In the United States alone, 37,000 people die in road crashes every year (ASIRT<\/em><\/a>).<\/p>\n

Traffic is also a huge problem. It\u2019s substantially worse than it was just 10 years ago. According to 2014 Census data (The Washington Post<\/a><\/em>), American workers spend 29.6 billion hours commuting every year. That\u2019s a collective 3.4 million years driving to and from work. Wow!<\/p>\n

Google\u2019s self-driving car project, now called Waymo<\/a>, has published reports based on its tests of over 3 million miles of self-driving vehicles on real roads in cities like Mountain View (CA), Austin (TX), Kickland (WA), and Phoenix (AZ). This is in addition to the billions of miles driven in simulation.<\/p>\n

Source: <\/em>Waymo\/Google<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The millions of miles driven on real city streets have taught Google a lot about driverless vehicles and have taught us a lot about how drivers can improve their driving habits for increased safety on the roads.<\/p>\n

This technology will come to market soon. Watch this video<\/a> to learn what a driverless world could look like:<\/p>\n

Self-driving cars will make the world a safer place, but it will be a long time before prices drop low enough for the majority of people to be able to afford one.<\/p>\n

Luckily, there has been a lot of information gathered from driverless cars that can make our own driving behaviors a lot safer.<\/p>\n

How does a self-driving car see the world?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Self-driving vehicles create a rich, logic-filled map of their surrounding area using 360-degree sensor systems, including lidar (laser<\/em> and radar<\/em>), GPS, odometry, and cameras. They not only see what\u2019s around them, they also anticipate what\u2019s going to happen.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

\u201cThe two red rectangles are cyclists; the red trails behind them indicate the path they\u2019ve just traveled. The cyclist on the left had entered the left turn lane, but veered back into our path to continue straight across the intersection. At the same time, the cyclist on the right entered the intersection, traveling against the flow of traffic. That cyclist then took a sudden left turn, coming directly at us in our lane. Our car was able to predict that cyclist\u2019s path of travel (turquoise line with circles) so we stopped and yielded. This happened at night, when it would have been very difficult for a human driver to see what was unfolding.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source: Waymo Team\/Medium<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This map not only knows where things are at the moment, it also works with other complicated parts of the car to predict what might happen in the near future.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s extremely complicated how these pieces of machinery can detect different types of objects\u2014cars, bikes, cones, debris on the road\u2014and anticipate and react to what\u2019s going to happen 1 second, 3 second, 10 seconds from now.<\/p>\n

Not only does the self-driving car need to know about the lane change up ahead and what the truck in front is going to do (quickly merge), it also needs to know about the goings on of everything else.<\/p>\n

After taking everything around it into account, the car then needs to know how to act\u2014which trajectory to take, how slow or how fast it should move. Then, the car must make the executive decision to steer left or right, press on the brake or hit the gas.<\/p>\n

Driving Safety Tips Learned from Self-Driving Cars<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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  1. \n

    Anticipate the behavior of other drivers<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    While you don\u2019t have the amazing ability to detect objects in a 360-degree radius, you still have an amazing amount of computing power in your head. Use it to keep track of the objects around you and what they are going to do.<\/p>\n

    For instance, a vehicle inching out of a driveway may not be able to see you. A vehicle at high speeds is approaching a red light\u2014you can guess that it will barrel through the light.<\/p>\n

    Despite what\u2019s supposed to happen, you can tell what actually is happening and prevent an accident by anticipating future actions.<\/p>\n

    Forget about what\u2019s supposed<\/em> to happen, anticipate what actually is<\/em> happening.<\/p>\n