style="font-size:15px;"> This section emphasizes some of the largest benefits that have been identified in existing research areas.As already described in the introduction (compare chapter 1), climate change plays a key role when it comes to the development of future vehicles. Thus, one of the biggest promises of autonomous driving is the forecast that these cars will become more fuel efficient and consequently more eco-friendly.
Intimately connected with that is the electrification of the drivetrain, which is still ongoing and will play a major role in future vehicles.
Based off of a forecast of U.S. car emissions and gasoline prices in 2030, sustainable energy researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California found that the emissions of a self-driving taxi would be 63-82% lower than those of a privately owned hybrid electric car, and 90% lower than today’s privately owned gasoline cars. If by 2030 just five percent, or 800,000, of vehicles, were converted to robot-taxis, it would save 7 million barrels of oil per year and prevent up to 2.4 million metric tons of CO2 emissions per year (Spectrum, 2015 [13]).
Autonomous vehicles promise to be more efficient to use on roadways through shorter headway control, thus they can travel in much closer formation than conventional vehicles.
This also affects the reduction of congestion by controlling the flow of traffic, as these vehicles allow for smoother braking and fine speed adjustments of following vehicles. Thus, it has an impact on fuel savings due to the fact that the car knows what kind of load will be placed on the engine and adapts accordingly.
By having an impact on the entire transportation system, autonomous driving enables automated platoon driving (platoons decrease the distances between cars using electronic, and possibly mechanical, coupling, which would allow many cars to accelerate or brake simultaneously.). Transportation efficiency could be improved by automating platoon driving of trucks and buses (on the highway). Because the following vehicles can closely and accurately track the vehicle at the head, it eliminates any wasteful driving and enables eco-driving. Fuel economy could be increased (mainly through reduced air resistance of shared slipstreams), long-distance journeys could be arranged, off peak travel times (as autonomous trucks could travel non-stop) and truck drivers wouldn’t be needed any more (though this would create a disadvantage too in terms of unemployment). As this ability also might require special express lanes, there might be a need for additional infrastructure to deal with autonomous trucks. If vehicles are able to travel closer together, the system’s fuel and congestion savings rise further, and some experts expect a significant increase in highway capacity on existing lanes [14].
This significant increase in highway capacity might also reduce the need for traffic policing. Further, with safer travel at higher speeds, higher speed limits are also foreseeable.
Autonomous driving also has an impact on the comfort of the “driver” itself, which won’t be needed in the function as operator/driver anymore. Additionally, it will enable dramatic increases in distance traveled per day, as long distance journeys could be arranged now. Thus, “drivers” will have more freedom and free time. Once the technology is truly perfected, time previously spend on travel can instead be put to use for working or relaxing.
But the “driver” won’t only profit in terms of free time, as new car comfort features will greatly improve user experience and user productivity. U.S. drivers spend an average of 75 billion hours each year on the road, which can now be put to good use. Whether people choose to spend this time eating, sleeping, watching TV, reading the newspaper, working, or simply conversing, it should result in significantly de-stressing the average commute and life in general [15].
Autonomous driving also enables more mobility for elderly and disabled people who otherwise might not have been able to drive a car anymore. In the future, mobility providers like “Car 2 Go”, “Zipcar”, etc. (just to mention a few of them) shall benefit from this technology - vehicles could come to customers, pick them up, drop them off and then return to their holding area.
Autonomous vehicles will not only have an impact on the passenger car industry and on freight transportation, it will also influence the agriculture sector. For example, like autonomous tractors could be used for “precision farming”.
Perhaps the most significant benefit from high levels of automation in vehicles will be improved safety, because autonomous vehicles have the potential to dramatically reduce crashes. Thus, car safety will strongly increase in terms of fewer traffic fatalities due the fact that right now nearly all accidents are caused by human error. Furthermore, autonomous vehicles would have a limited impact on hospital volumes and revenues.
Fig 11 highlights the magnitude of automobile crashes in the United States. There are over 30,000 fatal crashes every year in the U.S. Several studies have demonstrated that the annual economic costs of crashes in the U.S. amount to more than $300 billion (€330 billion) [16].
Fig 11: U.S. crash motor vehicle scope and selected human and environmental factor involvement [18] [19]
As a former National Highway Traffic Safety Administration official noted, humans are surprisingly good at driving and cause far fewer accidents than we probably would expect [17].
Nevertheless, driver error is believed to be the main reason behind over 90% of all crashes. Over 40% of these fatal crashes involve alcohol, distraction, fatigue, drug involvement, etc. [18].
Volvo categorizes these driver mistakes under “the 4Ds”: distraction, drowsiness, drunkenness, and driver error [17].
Reducing crashes also has an economic benefit. A study, conducted by the U.S. Center for Transportation [19], assumes three autonomous vehicle market-penetration shares: 10%, 50% and 90% and their resulting impact on economy. These are assumed to represent not only market shares, but technological improvements over time, since it could take many years for the U.S. to see high penetration rates.
Fig 12 summarizes all of these estimated impacts, suggesting economic benefits reaching $201 billion (€225 billion) when autonomous vehicles are at a 90% market penetration rate.
Meaningful congestion benefits are estimated to accrue to all travelers early on, while the magnitude of crash benefits grows over time. For example, at the 10% market penetration level congestion savings represent 66% of benefits and crash savings represent 21% of benefits, whereas at the 90% penetration rate these figures are 33% and 58%, respectively,. When comprehensive crash costs are included, overall crash savings jump by more than a factor of three [18] [19].
Further, Fig 12 illuminates autonomous vehicles’ social benefits, but it is also important to anticipate the privately realized benefits of autonomous vehicles ownership and use. These benefits are taking into account monetary savings from reduced fuel use and insurance, along with several levels of daily parking savings and (hourly) travel time savings.
Fig 12: Estimates of annual economic benefits (U.S.) [18] [19] [1]
Clearly, not everyone will be happy
