Don't Believe the Self-Driving Car Crash Hype
Don't Believe the Self-Driving Car Crash Hype
BY DOUG NEWCOMB MARCH 31, 2017
The media frenzy following accidents involving autonomous
technology is reminiscent of the fear that greeted the first horseless
carriages.
After centuries of getting around primarily via horses,
many people viewed the first automobiles with apprehension. This newfangled
"horseless carriage" was considered too fast and dangerous to ever
catch on.
In the late 19th century, England even had a law called
the Red Flag Act, which required self-propelled vehicles to be led at walking
pace by someone waving a red flag. In 1895, the New York Times noted that the
law would effectively "destroy the usefulness of a horseless
carriage," although we now know that the car (and good sense) prevailed.
It wasn't just fear of speed that spooked early
detractors of motor cars. Some thought that horses had better sense than
humans. Another New York Times article from 1928 that compared fear of
airplanes with the initial concern with cars quoted Alfred Sennett of the
British Association for the Advancement of Science. "We should not
overlook the fact that the driving of a horseless carriage calls for a larger
amount of attention, for [the driver] has not the advantage of the intelligence
of the horse in shaping his path, and it is consequently incumbent upon him to
be ever watchful of the course his vehicle is taking," he warned in 1896.
While this seems ludicrous 120 years later—although
strangely prescient when you consider today's issue with distracted
driving—autonomous vehicle technology is being greeted with a similar mistrust.
We're even using a similar irrational description: By calling cars
"horseless carriages" back then, people added the familiar element
that was missing, in the much the same way we do now with the term
"driverless cars."
Unfounded Fear of a New Technology
As with early automobiles, this unfounded fear of a new technology
could impede autonomous vehicle technology, especially given the inordinate
amount of media attention surrounding the handful of accidents involving
self-driving cars. And especially given that in a couple of recently highly
publicized accidents involving self-driving cars, autonomous technology wasn't
at fault.
The most recent example is an accident last week in which
one of Uber's self-driving Volvo XC90s was struck by a driver in the Phoenix
area, where the ride-hailing company is testing it autonomous technology on
public roads. The other driver failed to yield and the collision caused the
Uber vehicle to land in its side. But even though a human driver was reportedly
at fault and no injuries were reported, Uber temporarily halted its testing of
autonomous vehicles in the area (operations resumed on Monday).
A similar media frenzy followed two injury-free accidents
involving Google's self-driving Lexus SUVs while they were testing the tech
giant's autonomous technology on its home turf in Mountain View, California.
The first occurred in February 2016 when a Google self-driving Lexus struck a
bus while merging into another lane; the second happened last September when a
driver ran a red light and T-boned a Google Lexus.
No one was injured in these accidents. So far, the only
fatality in the US involving self-driving technology was an accident last May
in which a Tesla Model S owner was killed when the car broadsided an 18-wheeler
after failing to stop. The tragic accident not only called into question
whether Tesla's Autopilot feature truly is an autonomous technology despite the
name (it's not), but also set off a media firestorm.
I get that accidents involving self-driving cars make for
good coverage. But when you consider that on average nearly 100 people die in
motor automobile accidents each day in the US and compare that with the few
autonomous vehicle crashes and one known fatality, it's far from fair and
balanced reporting.
I also get that fear sells, but revisiting the hysteria
that first greeted horseless carriages a century ago is not only misguided but
could also hinder autonomous technology—and lead to a lot more accidents and
loss of life.
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