Since the dawn of motor vehicles, humans have driven these machines and were behind the wheel to control, accelerate, and direct the vehicle, but a recent survey unveiled that self-driving cars are safer than the original drivers. Recently, self-driving technology has been making waves in the industry including Alphabet’s Waymo robotaxi service, with a recent survey showing that people believe in the technology.
However, it is important to acknowledge that most of these, albeit, all, self-driving technologies are still in their experimental or testing stages, with more room to improve for future developments.
Survey: Waymo Robotaxis, Self-Driving Cars Safer Than Human Drivers
A new survey which asked a number of participants from the United States and the United Kingdom about their perception of self-driving cars and robotaxis from companies like Waymo revealed that many think that the technology is safer than human drivers. However, to give you a background on the study, 68 percent of the US participants claimed that they have safety concerns regarding self-driving vehicles on the road.
This was already a majority of the study that thinks that self-driving cars have safety issues on the road, but half of the 68 percent answered claimed that these issues can be addressed in the future. With that, the said half also believes that should these issues be addressed, self-driving vehicles would be “safer” compared to human drivers who are traveling on public roads.
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Autonomous Driving Technology Expected to Improve
The good thing is that people already have a sense of trust in self-driving technologies including robotaxis and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and are acknowledging that future developments may still improve the experience. Companies like Waymo and more have been working towards fixing these issues on their vehicles, with their top priority being safety, especially amidst other cars around and with or without passengers on board.
Waymo and insurance company Swiss Re recently shared a study regarding their Waymo Driver technology, saying that the service is now demonstrating “better safety performance metrics” compared to human drivers.
A Safer Future with Self-Driving Car Technology?
Last year saw the biggest challenges and scrutiny among self-driving car technologies in the tech industry as variousaccidents and issues arose, and it shone the autonomous technologies in a bad light. The likes of General Motors’s Cruise, which is now dissolved by the company, saw various incidents of crashes last year involving the technology which led to its operational suspensions.
However, the most notorious technology there is that is linked to the dangers and risks of self-driving technology is none other than Elon Musk’s Tesla, particularly with its Full-Self Driving (FSD) developments. The company has seen multiple lawsuits that are suing the technology because of its unsafe driving experiences, with many claiming that it offers faulty ADAS features.
Of course, Alphabet’s Waymo has also seen its fair share of scrutiny over the years where it was criticized for the many accidents it was a part of, centering on the massive issues against the technology. Despite all of this and the survey participants still having safety concerns over these self-driving technologies, they believe that in the future, it will largely improve and be better than human drivers, including Waymo robotaxis.
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