A vehicle that is capable of sensing its environment and navigating without human input.
Autonomous Vehicles are a technology that will eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all. (Vision Zero Revised)
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PRISM Engineering Articles on the Evolution of Autonomous Transportation
While many in the industry are pining away at the idea of reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) for cars, and how to do that, many have surmised that getting people out of their cars and riding bikes or walking is the answer. They call it "Active Transportation" where part if not all of your trip is composed of a walking or biking experience. But the Autonomous Vehicle is rapidly evolving / unfolding to change that thinking, the thinking that if we could only get people out of their cars. I do not believe this is going to happen no matter how much it is promoted, until we can redesign how we get around in a transportation system. Slight modifications to the status quo system are not going to yield the exodus from moving vehicles. Autonomous vehicles are going to replace human driven cars, and our transportation is going to evolve in game-changing ways. While many seek Vision Zero goals (eliminate death in traffic accidents and improve safety), these are primarily doing it old school using European town models as a guide, well, these are about to be replaced with a very modern alternative. Vision Zero seeks to lower speeds as a method, but technology will ensure that we don't need to slow down, but we need to change how vehicles interface with humans on the streets. We have already done this with trains, subways, and airports. We separate these modes from each other, and safety is dramatically enhanced. When is the last time an airplane had a conflict with children on a local neighborhood street for instance? When we separate incompatible modes of travel into their own spaces, we enhance safety, especially the safety of the pedestrian and bicyclist.
Numerous vehicle and technology companies see the technology in AV as a multi-trillion dollar market. An opportunity to retool transportation for the better and make it safe. In my view, Autonomous Vehicles will significantly solve roadway capacity problems and eliminate traffic jams, safety will improve, and if ubiquitous, our roadway fatality problems will evaporate. Transit as we know it will also change with a new transportation system customized for the American way of life (lifestyle choice), and it will probably not involve everyone needing to move to the mega cities to experience it. Shared vehicle technology will enable shorter and more efficient trips, and reduce VMT. Electrified vehicles will improve air quality. Autonomous vehicles will, through their headway and acceleration efficiencies, make possible the reduction of road lanes needed for vehicles, and Traffic Engineers will focus on the redesign and re-purposing of city / county roads to include dedicated right of way for bikes and pedestrians, separating these modes entirely from the separate pathways of Autonomous Vehicles. Grade separations and physical barrier lane separations between human travelers (bikes and walking) and automated vehicles of all types will be the norm. Traffic Engineering is evolving. It is a huge challenge to meet this evolution of transportation. And it is looking very good for all citizens of all countries. As a result of Autonomous Vehicles, the VMT reduction goals as well as air quality goals sought by government agencies and constituents will be far exceeded, and we do NOT need to eliminate the choice of vehicle travel modes to do this. Cars are here to stay, they will just work in a different transportation system. We will be able to choose to drive (or be driven) less, and choose to ride bikes and walk as viable in-between modes of travel, with the vehicles filling in the segments of travel where biking or walking is not feasible or practical.
source: https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/robert-poole/what-do-autonomous-vehicles-mean-future-us-highways
UBER Autonomous Vehicle Fatal Accident with Pedestrian
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source: Google maps aerial, PRISM Engineering
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source: Google maps aerial, PRISM Engineering
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