We’re reading that self-driving cars are no longer a thing of the future, but it’s in the subhead of this Time article: how long will it be before your car no longer needs you? where the heart of the story lies.
Jason H. Harper writes of how he earned one of the first new driverless motor licenses — technically known as an “autonomous vehicle testing” permit — from the California DMV.
He then describes his chauffeured ride by a prototype Audi from Silicon Valley to Las Vegas for last week’s Consumer Electronics Show:
Before taking the 550-mile road trip, Harper had to get special instruction on how not to drive, per California regulations:
Harper says the training was far more difficult and involved than a regular driving test. However, average buyers will not need such training.
Why?
Because rollout of this technology is gradual. Audi’s program for example would allow the car to self-drive in stop-and-go highway traffic, but when traffic clears the driver takes the wheel again.
It’s at the very end of the article that a voice from academia reminds us that this approach may be no bad thing as both technology and driver acceptance need time to mature.
Dr. Jeffrey Miller, an associate professor at the University of Southern California, tells Time that in his opinion licenses and drivers will never be obsolete because “the driver will always have to take over in case of a failure.”
It’s an interesting point. From the insurance perspective, too, while self-driving cars are definitely on the way, the implications for insurers are evolving. In its issue update Self-Driving Cars and Insurance, the I.I.I. notes:
And:
More on auto insurance here.
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