Traffic Issues Reduced by Self-Driving Vehicles

DETROIT – As populations continue to rise, General Motors says making the switch to all-electric autonomous vehicles is becoming increasingly important.

As a part of GM’s goal for zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion, it has determined that the best way to meet those goals is through electric self-driving vehicles.

According to the World Health Organization, over 1.3 million people die to traffic accidents globally each year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports human error is responsible for 94% of those accidents. GM believes autonomous vehicles will help significantly reduce these numbers.

Advantages of all-electric autonomous vehicles as compared to gasoline and hybrid vehicles are a cleaner environment, a more stable power source and low latency, according to GM.

In the next 18 years, GM says 40 cities are projected to have populations over 10 million. For busy cities, all-electric autonomous vehicles can help combat both congestion and pollution production.

GM says the battery packs in the all-electric vehicles are much more stable of a power source than those power sources of internal combustion engines. The all-electric battery pack can allow for higher-power AV elements.

In relation to driver reaction time, electric AVs include a number of censors and electric propulsion systems, which include lower latency and more consistent response times. This will allow for a smaller delay in the reaction time required to make vehicle maneuvers.

“Electric vehicles allow for simpler integration of the advanced technologies required for the cleanest and safest operation of autonomous vehicles,” GM says. “That’s why we believe that in the long term, building all-electric vehicles with autonomous capabilities integrated from the beginning […] is the most efficient way to unlock the tremendous potential societal benefits of self-driving cars.”

Source: General Motors

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.