Nat sound (car traffic, credit: Pixabay)
TO KARI MITCHELL, HUMAN DRIVERS ARE NOT PERFECT. STILL, THE EVANSTON RESIDENT SAID SHE PREFERS PEOPLE PUSHING THE PEDALS.
KARI MITCHELL: “Humans make errors all the time, but at least you feel there’s a little bit more sense of control if I’m behind the wheel. I like driving. I like to be in charge.”
BUT MITCHELL’S STATUS QUO MAY SOON BE CHALLENGED.
WAYMO, A SELF-DRIVING CAR SERVICE PRESENT IN 11 MAJOR U.S. CITIES, ANNOUNCED PLANS IN FEBRUARY TO EXPAND TO CHICAGO. ALTHOUGH ILLINOIS PROHIBITS FULLY AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES, LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS TO GREENLIGHT A PILOT PROGRAM ARE ONGOING, PER THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY’S WEBSITE.
WHILE WAYMO’S FLEET OF MODIFIED JAGUAR SUV’S IS AI-CONTROLLED, A SPOKESPERSON TOLD NBC CHICAGO THAT HUMANS ARE CURRENTLY DRIVING ITS CARS HERE, MAPPING A PORTION OF THE WINDY CITY EAST OF INTERSTATE 90 BETWEEN WRIGLEYVILLE AND SOUTH LOOP.
RAHIM BENEKOHAL, AN EMERITUS CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, SAID CHICAGO’S DENSE ROAD NETWORK MAY CHALLENGE WAYMO’S AI.
RAHIM BENEKOHAL: “We have very complex roadway arrangements with multi-purpose, multi-modal facilities. In downtown Chicago, you have very unique pedestrian and bicyclist lanes and transit interactions with the roadways.”
TO BENEKOHAL, IT’S NOT JUST THE ROADS ITSELF THAT POSE A CHALLENGE. IT’S THE CONDITIONS AS WELL.
RAHIM BENEKOHAL: “We have wintertime [and] we have ice and snow in the Chicago area that you don’t have in Phoenix, for example. That’s going to be a serious challenge.”
HOWEVER, WAYMO’S CORPORATE STRATEGY INDICATES IT IS CONFIDENT THAT ITS AI CAN HANDLE COLD TEMPERATURES. BESIDES CHICAGO, ITS WEBSITE LISTS 19 EXPANSION CITIES, INCLUDING BOSTON AND MINNEAPOLIS, WHICH ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR COLD, SNOWY WINTERS.
WAYMO’S CARS HAVE DRIVEN MORE THAN 170 MILLION MILES AUTONOMOUSLY, ACCORDING TO COMPANY DATA. WAYMO ALSO REPORTED ITS CARS SUFFERED 82 PERCENT FEWER INJURY-CAUSING CRASHES THAN AN AVERAGE HUMAN DRIVER OVER THE SAME DISTANCE.
DAVID KIDD IS THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR VEHICLE RESEARCH AT THE INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY. HE SAID AN AI-DRIVEN VEHICLE ELIMINATES SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND SPEEDING CONCERNS.
HE ALSO SAID WAYMOS NOT IMMUNE FROM ERROR, ESPECIALLY WHEN REACTING TO SUDDEN SITUATIONAL CHANGES, SUCH AS A SCHOOL BUS EXTENDING ITS STOP SIGN.
KIDD HAS NOT HAILED A COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE WAYMO YET. BUT HE SAID THAT WHILE HUMAN DRIVERS ARE REASSURING, WAYMO IS ULTIMATELY AKIN TO OTHER RIDESHARE OFFERINGS.
DAVID KIDD: “I don’t see them as any different than getting an Uber or Lyft. I’m trusting that those drivers I’m trusting A, have a license, B, are not impaired, keep their car up, C, and make reasonable decisions on the road?”
FROM THE STREETS OF CHICAGOLAND, I’M VIDYUTH SRIDHAR, WNUR NEWS.