Are autonomous vehicles safer than vehicles driven by human beings? Some research shows they are, but there are always exceptions. An analysis of over 37,000 traffic accidents showed that only 2,100 cases involved vehicles with a high degree of or complete autonomy. Also, it should be pointed out that some data in the accidents that occurred are not complete, but it was enough to establish that the computer is a better driver than a person.

The research was conducted by Mohamed Abdel-Aty and Shengxuan Ding from the University of Central Florida in Orlando, and they took as an example situations with pedestrians that are most often cited when talking about the bad characteristics of autonomous driving. When a man was behind the wheel, 15% of collisions were with pedestrians, and when the vehicle was controlled by a computer, only 3%. Also, 1/5 of accidents occur due to human carelessness, while in as many as 3/4 of direct collisions, the cause is human.

The advantage of the computer is particularly pronounced in conditions of poor visibility when a person can see barely 10 – 15 meters in front of the vehicle, while the sensors show the condition up to a hundred meters in front of the vehicle. However, the sensors are not reliable in some situations, so the presence of the driver is decisive and safer in such circumstances, e.g. during sunset and sunrise. During the analysis, an additional problem was that both man and computer drive too well in today’s cars, so there is a possibility of a collision every 100 thousand kilometers.

Human beings have one great advantage, and that is situations when they will better assess and react, such as unforeseen circumstances. This is not the case with a computer, which will often block an ambulance or someone’s free access to the road.

Source: Deutsche Welle