[msb-alumni] Concerned about self-driving cars? You're not alone
- From: Steve <pipeguy920@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2018 15:47:50 -0500
BlankConcerned about self-driving cars? You're not alone Eric D. Lawrence ,
Detroit Free Press
Using the adaptive cruise control on his Toyota Avalon left Rich Heidebrink
feeling uneasy. "I was always nervous about getting popped from behind," the
Northwood, Ohio, man explained about the driver assistance technology that
allows one vehicle to maintain a set distance behind another with the aid of
sensors. Heidebrink, 63,'said he would shut the cruise function off in traffic
because he was concerned that another driver would cut in front of him and his
car would brake too suddenly for someone following him.
It's an experience'Heidebrink mentioned as he explained his impressions'about
self-driving, or autonomous, vehicles. Heidebrink,'whose pride is a 1954 Chevy
convertible, and his friend, Keith Fraker, 65, of Toledo, Ohio, were at the
North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week and had just looked
over'a Cadillac CT6, which offers General Motors' semi-autonomous'Super Cruise
feature.
"It might be old school, but I enjoy driving," Fraker noted.
Self-driving cars, it turns out, are neither man's speed. It was the kind of
response the Free Press received from numerous people at the Detroit auto show.
It's a wariness informed by reports such as the fatal 2016 crash in Florida of
a
Tesla Model S in Autopilot mode -- several people mentioned that incident --
and
of users' personal experiences with technology and their continued affection
for
being in control of their ride.
"At home, how many times does your computer crash? asked Joe Wisniewski, 69, of
Fenton. Wisniewski said he is "not interested at all" in driverless cars, and
he
dismissed the possibility that the vehicles would be in wide use any time soon.
Wisniewski's wife, Paula, might be more willing than her husband to give one a
try, but not right away. She'd
prefer to let automakers "get the bugs out first." However, she suggested that
driverless cars would probably be safer than drunken drivers.
As automakers push aggressive time frames for introducing driverless vehicles,
the outreach needed to convince the public that the technology represents a
positive development appears still to be wanting.
Numerous surveys, such as the J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Tech Choice Study, which
showed an increased wariness of self-driving cars,'have reflected a disconnect
between industry enthusiasm and the public's attitudes toward a driverless
future. Self-driving car boosters often promote the technology as a way to cut
down on the nearly 40,000'highway fatalities every year in the U.S., and it's
possible that message is starting to get through. A AAA survey released this
week found that although 63% of U.S. drivers said they would feel afraid to
ride
in a self-driving vehicle, the percentage is down from 78% last year.
"Americans are starting to feel more comfortable with the idea of self-driving
vehicles," AAA Automotive Engineering and Industry Relations Director Greg
Brannon said in a news release. "Compared to just a year ago, AAA found that 20
million more U.S. drivers would trust a self-driving vehicle to take them for a
ride.
Still, reactions to the technology often run to the negative.
Earlier this month, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety released the results
of a survey the group had commissioned that found 64% of respondents were
concerned about sharing the road with driverless cars, an attitude
shared across the country. The unease continued with questions regarding safety
exemptions for driverless cars and allowing them to operate without equipment
that would let a human take control.
Those concerns come -- as the Free Press recently reported -- as General Motors
has asked for an OK to test its latest autonomous Chevrolet Bolts without
steering wheels, accelerators or brake pedals. The advocacy group said its
survey should be a wake-up call to Congress as it considers self-driving
vehicle
regulations. The group said the survey shows the public supports government
oversight of driverless car testing.
Part of the concern for groups such as'Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety is
a belief that mistakes from rushing the technology to market and high-profile
incidents, such as the 2016 Tesla crash, will hinder acceptance of what those
groups consider to be a potentially life-saving technology. As a highlight of
that phenomenon, another Tesla crash just this week was generating headlines .
A
Model S that might have been operating in Autopilot mode crashed into a parked
firetruck in California. No injuries were reported.
Attitudes about driverless cars are clearly not all negative. At a breakfast
luncheon for women professionals last week at the Renaissance Center, the
majority of those in attendance during a panel discussion about technology
raised their hands
to signal they were excited about the prospect of driverless cars.
Philip Le, 48, of Washington Township does not share that enthusiasm. Le, who
was walking
past a display for a self-driving Ford Fusion hybrid at the auto show, was not
convinced such vehicles will make driving safer, in part, he said, because
humans react faster than machines when it comes to driving. "For me, I think
it's just dangerous," Le said.
That Fusion, according to staff answering questions about the display, was used
by Ford to test reactions to having a self-driving car deliver Domino's Pizza
last year in Ann Arbor.
Monique Dotson, 53, of Westland looked at the display and described it as the
future. But she is not completely sold on the idea. The potential use of
driverless cars on public roads raises many questions, such as how they react
in
ice, snow, and creates a "heightened level of anxiety," she said, before noting
her unease at the prospect of riding in one.
"It's almost like you sit in there with a blindfold on because you don't know
what's going to happen," Dotson said.
Dotson's 14-year-old son, Trevor, is less concerned about the potential for
problems, and assumes the technology will be perfected in six or seven years.
He's excited about the prospect of driverless cars, but he's more focused on
something that he expects to begin later this year -- the process of getting
his
driver's license.
Back at the Cadillac display, Joi Sessor, 50, of Detroit weighed her feelings
about driverless cars and decided she prefers to do her own driving. She said
she worries about cybersecurity and the potential for hackers to cause
problems.
She recalled the notorious 2015 hacking of a Jeep Cherokee that left the
vehicle
crawling along a highway in the St. Louis area as traffic zoomed by. "I'm
still
nervous. (I'm) not ready to relinquish control," she said. "I don't trust the
security of the technology."
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