Articles on Autonomous vehicles

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Self-driving cars could lead to increased traffic and pollution if they spur more travel by car. Witthaya Prasongsin via Getty Images

Driverless cars won’t be good for the environment if they lead to more auto use

Studies show that when people can ride in a car without having to operate it, they increase their car use. That could increase traffic and pollution, unless government puts a price on car travel.
Tesla’s Autopilot enables hands-free driving, but it’s not meant to allow drivers to take their eyes off the road. Marcus Zacher/Flickr

Why Tesla’s Autopilot crashes spurred the feds to investigate driver‑assist technologies – and what that means for the future of self‑driving cars

An autonomous vehicle expert explains how Tesla’s Autopilot works, what prompted US authorities to investigate the system and what changes might be in store for the company.
Self-driving cars are programmed to identify and avoid risk, but in the case of an accident, who is legally responsible? (Shutterstock)

Who’s to blame when a self‑driving car has an accident?

As self-driving cars increase in popularity, the question of legal liability remains. The driver, automobile manufacturer and software designers all have a role to play.
LiDAR helps an autonomous vehicle ‘visualize’ what’s around it. Yulong Can with data from Baidu Apollo

Autonomous vehicles can be fooled to ‘see’ nonexistent obstacles

Driverless vehicles rely heavily on sensors to navigate the world. They’re vulnerable to attack if bad actors trick them into ‘seeing’ things that aren’t there, potentially leading to deadly crashes.
Widespread use of autonomous vehicles could increase or cut greenhouse gas emissions. It all depends on public policy. (Shutterstock)

Self‑driving cars will not fix our transportation woes

The sweeping introduction of driverless cars could see more vehicles on the road, driving longer distances. But smart planning could solve some of transit-associated environmental and social problems.
If a vehicle was coming through this intersection would this pedestrian have right of way? Stephen Di Donato/Good Free Photos

Why Australian road rules should be rewritten to put walking first

Most people do not know the right-of-way rules, but a starting point should be that pedestrian needs and safety take priority. Current road rules are biased towards driver convenience

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