Autonomous vehicles are an imminent disruptive force. These vehicles will change how we reason, act, transport ourselves and go about our daily lives. Just as many homes no longer have a hard-wired telephone, so too will your current driver-dependent car disappear.
Entities like Google are rapidly forcing autonomous vehicles into our lives. GM, Volkswagen, Ford, Nissan, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz are also testing self-driving technology. Additionally, you can already buy a high-end luxury car offering radar systems that allow automatic cruise control, autonomous braking and assistance staying in driving lanes.
I have been researching this technology for years, and I strongly suggest that Georgia get in front of this technological wave as it evolves into a multi-billion dollar industry. Currently, only California, Nevada, Michigan and Florida allow autonomous vehicles on public roads.
The advantages of autonomous vehicles are enormous, causing accident rates to plunge to near zero, creating environmentally friendly transport and greatly reducing traffic congestion.
The new technology will produce a significant capacity savings with our existing road infrastructure by permitting vehicles to stay amazingly close, greatly reducing the funding committed to road expansion and leaving more funding for future road and bridge maintenance. Also, imagine your car insurance rates drastically declining because human error is removed from driving. Likewise, senior citizens and people with disabilities could reach their destinations without assistance.
An IHS Automotive study predicts that by 2035, nearly 54 million autonomous vehicles will be in use worldwide, and annual sales will reach almost 12 million units; and that after 2050, nearly all vehicles in use — both personal and commercial — will be self-driving.
Google’s retrofitted, self-driving Toyota Priuses have logged hundreds of thousands of miles on California highways. The company now plans to field a small number of fully autonomous vehicles, with no steering wheel or gas or brake pedal. California law will allow the low-speed operation of such vehicles on public roads by the end of 2014.
We must prod the normally sluggish pace of the state Legislature and create some early adopter activity, attracting technology companies, high-tech jobs and substantial research and development funding.
Metro Atlanta missed out on the early spoils of the Internet revolution because we could not turn the transitional corner fast enough. We do not need a repeat with autonomous vehicle development.
It is heartbreaking to watch the Atlanta region fixate on expanding costly heavy-rail transit lines and creating ultra-expensive light-rail lines with low single-digit ridership percentages and no discernible way to fund the gigantic bill for long-term operations and maintenance. Conversely, becoming the epicenter for autonomous vehicle technology provides an environmental benefit, enhanced safety and a significant savings in road capacity, considerably reducing traffic congestion.
Creating additional road capacity means ending expensive road expansions and having more available funding for future road maintenance without raising taxes.
Unfortunately, our region is heading backwards to the 1940s, hoping that nostalgic, budget-busting streetcars and commuter rail systems competing with freight rail will have the masses running from the suburbs into dense urban areas.
The Fayette County Board of Commissioners might be the first and only county board in the U.S. to officially agree to utilize its county road system as a pilot site for design, manned testing and regulatory research for autonomous vehicles. This will enable industry leaders to field test their technology, and let federal and state transportation officials experiment with a regulatory framework in a live setting.
I hope our state legislators will recognize the logical argument for pursuing what McKinsey’s Global Institute calls “a potential revolution in ground transportation that could, if regulations allow, be well under way by 2025.” How about we reap the rewards of this technology first?
Fayette makes an exceptional testing ground with the least amount of traffic congestion in the metro area, varied driving conditions and a well-educated population resembling the target market for high-end driverless vehicles.
The county will need state approval to operate as a pilot site.
Nissan says it could have autonomous vehicles on the market by 2018, except for the lack of government regulation for the new technology. We have an opportunity to be a market leader. Fayette County is excited to serve as a pilot site if given the opportunity by the state.
Steve Brown is chairman of the Fayette County Commission.
