Self-Driving Cars Safer Than Humans Except in Turns, Study Finds (2024)

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are generally safer than those driven by human drivers except in certain scenarios.

Two of the common scenarios that present problems for AVs are when performing turns and in low-low light conditions.

Those are the headline findings in new research carried out by engineers at the University of Florida.

The results of the research, carried out by Mohamed Abdel-Aty and Shengxuan Ding, have been published in a study entitled: “A matched case-control analysis of autonomous vs human-driven vehicle accidents” in the journal Nature Communications.

As part of their work, Abdel-Aty and Ding analyzed automobile crash data in California between 2016 and 2022. California was chosen because of the relatively high number of self-driving cars that have been tested there.

Initially, data from accidents featuring 2100 vehicles fitted with automated driving systems or advanced driver assistance systems was taken into account, alongside data from 35,113 accidents featuring human-driven vehicles.

The next step was to create a statistically matched case-control method to find accidents that happened under similar circ*mstances. Among the factors taken into account were road conditions, time of day, weather and road layout, such as whether the accident occurred on a straight stretch or at an intersection.

Having applied these filters, a total of 548 accidents featuring cars with automated driving systems were selected for research, with the analysis producing some interesting findings.

As the abstract for the study explains: “The analysis suggests that accidents of vehicles equipped with Advanced Driving Systems (ADS) generally have a lower chance of occurring than Human-Driven Vehicles in most of the similar accident scenarios.”

However, while that could be interpreted positively, the research also uncovered that dawn/dusk conditions and turning conditions – ie when a vehicle is not traveling in a straight line – present problems.

In these circ*mstances, ADS-equipped vehicles were found to be involved in accidents 5.25 times and 1.98 times more respectively.

Another key finding was that an ADS car was 0.335 times less likely to be in an accident in rainy weather, with sensors’ ability to detect objects at long range helping here. Seemingly, though, the sensors are not able to adapt quickly enough to changes in light conditions, which affects their ability to detect obstacles, pedestrians and other vehicles, possibly explaining the dawn/dusk issue.

One major caveat to the study, which has been extensively highlighted on social media, is that the sample size for AVs is small, while it has also been widely suggested that automakers and operators do not always self-report on accidents entirely accurately, meaning the ADS data cannot be relied upon.

Abdel-Aty and Ding acknowledge that enhanced analysis of accidents involving AVs would be a benefit, but hope the study can “inform future development” in autonomous driving technology.

Self-Driving Cars Safer Than Humans Except in Turns, Study Finds (2024)

FAQs

Self-Driving Cars Safer Than Humans Except in Turns, Study Finds? ›

Self-Driving Cars Safer Than Humans Except in Turns, Study Finds. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are generally safer than those driven by human drivers except in certain scenarios. Two of the common scenarios that present problems for AVs are when performing turns and in low-low light conditions.

Why self-driving cars are not safe? ›

Hacked vehicles

Self-driving cars are controlled entirely by computers. Unfortunately, computer hardware and software can be vulnerable to exploits from malicious hackers. These cyber attackers could be able to break into the vehicle's systems and take control of it.

Are self-driving cars a good or bad idea research paper? ›

We had make research and get information on this. Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for young people, and 90% of them are caused by human error. Self-driving cars have the potential to drastically reduce the number of accidents and save lives.

Are self-driving cars safe the advantages & disadvantages? ›

The advantages of autonomous driving are obvious: Increased road safety, reduced driver workload, lower fuel consumption and fewer traffic jams are just a few. Still to be overcome, however, are issues such as: technical challenges. high cost.

Will self-driving cars be safer in the future? ›

Much of that will depend on whether companies building them can demonstrate they're safer than cars driven by humans on average. Waslander said AVs could make travelling easier for young children or people with physical disabilities, as well as generally safer, once the software running them becomes more sophisticated.

Are self-driving cars safer than humans? ›

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are generally safer than those driven by human drivers except in certain scenarios. Two of the common scenarios that present problems for AVs are when performing turns and in low-low light conditions.

Can self-driving cars ever be 100% safe? ›

A self-driving car can't be 99-percent perfect, it can't be 99.9-percent or even 99.999-percent safe. Human drivers, on average, avoid crashes 99.999819 percent of the time. To beat that, autonomous vehicles will have to hit nearly six nines of reliability.

What is the biggest problem with self-driving cars? ›

Learning about the top five dangers of using self-driving cars will help you understand the risks of autonomous vehicles.
  • Vehicle crashes: Automated systems can malfunction. ...
  • Pedestrian accidents: Automated systems don't respond to people or animals. ...
  • Self-driving cars are fire hazards. ...
  • Hacking. ...
  • Health risks.

Why are driverless cars good or bad? ›

Proponents say driverless vehicles could reduce the stress of commuting, lower the number of accidents and make traveling more sustainable. But critics have raised a number of concerns – ranging from safety risks, to cost, to their potential to hurt the environment by making car travel easier.

How much will self-driving cars reduce accidents? ›

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety looked at more than 5,000 car accident reports and found that while current self-driving technology could reduce accidents by around 34%, autonomous vehicles still have trouble avoiding, planning, deciding, and execution-related driving errors.

Are self-driving cars better or worse? ›

But the analysis also found self-driving cars had a crash risk five times as great as human drivers when operating at dawn and dusk, along with almost double the accident rate of human drivers when making turns.

How is self-driving beneficial? ›

Fewer traffic jams save fuel and reduce greenhouse gases from needless idling. Automated driving systems may reduce unnecessary braking and acceleration that waste fuel. Vehicles with fully automated driving systems may be able to travel more closely together, reducing air drag and thereby reducing fuel use.

Do the benefits of driverless vehicles outweigh the risks? ›

“Just like any new technology there is inherent risk, but the long-term benefits far outweigh these risks. The safest way to improve this technology is by slowly getting real-world data, and that is what they are doing. This is going to take time.

Are self-driving cars safer for the environment? ›

If every vehicle on the road is autonomous, their control system can reduce fuel consumption by 18 percent and carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent, while boosting travel speeds by 20 percent. “A single intervention having 20 to 25 percent reduction in fuel or emissions is really incredible.

Will self-driving cars improve traffic? ›

One of the primary advantages of autonomous vehicles lies in their potential to dramatically reduce traffic congestion. By communicating with each other, self-driving cars can optimize speed, route, and timing to maintain a steady traffic flow, minimizing the stop-and-go scenarios that contribute to bottlenecks.

Are Tesla self-driving cars safe? ›

A safety group graded 14 driver-assistance systems. Tesla's self-driving option was the worst. Automated driving systems are lacking in the safety department, according to a new report. Tesla's Full Self Driving system earned the worst marks, but most of the 14 systems tested poorly.

What are the negative effects of self-driving cars? ›

A malicious attacker could find and exploit security holes in any number of complex systems to take over a car or even cause it to crash purposefully. Furthermore, driverless cars of the future will likely be networked in order to communicate with each other and send and receive data about other vehicles on the road.

What are the dangers of AI vehicles? ›

Research has shown human factors problems, as drivers transition from controlling to supervising the vehicle. With increasing automation, drivers may become disengaged, which can manifest as drivers take their hands off the wheel, eyes off the road, or minds wander away from driving.

Why aren t we using self-driving cars? ›

Safe, human-level self-driving, however, isn't somewhere up around the bend, according to Navy veteran and engineer Michael DeKort. The costs, he says, in human lives, time and money, are too high for true, safe self-driving to ever be achieved.

What happens if a self-driving car gets hacked? ›

A malicious technology can trick self-driving cars into "hallucinating" phantom vehicles and veering dangerously off-course to get out of their way, researchers have discovered.

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