Age limit for “driving” an autonomous vehicle: an open issue for future road transport system

Abstract

Vehicles are an indisputable necessity for humans’ lives. Every day, people utilize both private and public transportation to fulfil their diverse demands. The advent of autonomous vehicles has presented novel opportunities as well as challenges for humanity, however when these cars become more commonplace, people will encounter a variety of new evolutions to manage. With a few exceptions represented by the cases in which their intervention is required, people will be free to manage their personal affairs and perform different activities during the trip with a self-driving car. Regarding this matter, it can be assumed that people will be able to utilize an autonomous vehicle even they are less than 18 years old (the minimum age for having a driving licence in most of the countries), although several questions will arise. A group of University students (whose have enough information about AVs) participated in a discussion panel and evaluated the arguments made for and against the topic to arrive at a logical conclusion. This work looks at and evaluates the panel's opinions, contrasting them with already published manuscripts and comparing the results with a wide surveys’ ones.