Driven by Distraction: Sustainable Road Safety and the Impact of Autonomous Driving on Vulnerable Users ( breakout presentation )

Abstract

This presentation first it will deal with how pedestrians will have to be taken into account by Autonomous Vehicles (AV) and second with how this new technology will impact sustainable mobility and cities in general. Twentieth century cities were shaped by motorization while humanity is still moving towards different forms of urban settlements. Half of those dying on the world's roads are “vulnerable road users” outside of potential AV. From the easier challenge of finding algorithms for AV in open intra-urban roads, the debate should shift to how to tackle safety in urban roads and assure more sustainable and equitable Transportation as a Service (TaaS) models. Pedestrians pose very complex challenges to AV. Being a pedestrian is a universal condition - no ability test is necessary. Hopefully there will be always people walking the streets who are unpredictable and physiologically unable to assess danger - a well designed system should prioritise the safety of the most vulnerable. Therefore, we will argue that pedestrian safety should be yardstick to measure the quality of any ethical system and the centerpiece of the debate. However, there is a lot to be done using available and affordable technology: Transit Oriented Communities have about one-fifth of the per capita traffic casualty rate as automobile-oriented communities. Moreover, fatalities and injuries are only a small part of the car externalities - congestion, pollution, space waste will not disappear with AV. Automation might in fact reduce considerably the cost of driving, thus increasing the aforementioned externalities. Only a smart use of technology, serving clear sustainable mobility objectives, will be able to avoid worse consequences. We will argue that we are all better off with carless drivers instead of driverless cars.