Many new cars on the market today feature some degree of automation (e.g. adaptive cruise control; lane keeping assist). Many car manufacturers estimate the first high to fully automated vehicles will hit the market between 2020 and 2030.
Image Source: The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) levels of automation.
In the years to come, AVs are expected to be safer than conventional vehicles. Human error is the cause around 90 per cent of road deaths and injuries, so if we can help safely transition to driverless vehicles sooner, hundreds of Australian lives could be saved, and thousands of serious injuries prevented.
However, increasing automation does also raise many considerations which need to be explored and managed to safely transition to more widespread operation of AVs on our roads.
