What Self-Driving Cars Can Teach Us Better Driving
So far, self-driving cars have a safer driving experience than most people. This sounds impressive, but part of the reason is that we do n’t drive well . We rush, get angry, and take unnecessary risks. In these areas, self-driving cars have a few things they can teach us.
While self-driving cars have not yet become widespread, they already appear to be statistically safer than human drivers. For the record, there were about 5.4 million accidents in the United States in 2010 , resulting in 32,999 deaths (roughly the average number of deaths per year since 2008). Meanwhile, self-driving cars had 3.2 accidents per million miles, compared with 4.2 accidents per million miles in humans, according to a Virginia Transportation Institute study commissioned by Google. The study also believed, but failed to prove, that accidents involving self-driving cars were not as severe.
It is, of course, too early to say that self-driving cars would definitely be safer in mainstream use. The closest we have now are Tesla vehicles, which are not fully autonomous, and the federal government is only pushing its first set of rules for self-driving cars tomorrow . However, self-driving cars have clear advantages. They don’t drive drunk, they don’t develop aggressive behavior on the road, and they follow traffic rules more strictly than we are comfortable with. Even if they are not ready to hit the road, they can teach us a few things about safety.
Pay attention to where other people are going, not just where they are
In the video above, Chris Urmson, head of the self-driving car program at Google, explains how his cars see the world. At around 10:37 am, he explains how cars track other drivers, pedestrians and cyclists to predict not only where they are, but where they are going to be. Urmson shows how the car identifies the cyclist and suggests that he will need to turn left to bypass the car in front of him. By paying attention to where the cyclist is going, the car knows to either slow down or give him space.
You may not be able to mentally track as many different objects and their trajectories as a car without a driver, but you can still predict where the car will be. For example, if you see a car speeding through a red light, you can probably guess by now that they are not going to stop. You may have a green light, but you know that in any case you cannot enter the intersection until a speeding car has passed. Knowing the difference between what needs to happen and what happens can save your life. There are many other ways to anticipate the actions of other drivers, including, but not limited to:
- Watch the other driver, not just his car. Your eyes may be drawn to other vehicles on the road, but if you are at an intersection or changing lanes, you can see the driver himself in the window. This can give you an idea of what they are planning to do. If you notice a driver looking into the lane you are trying to enter, wait to see what he is doing before driving. It can also help you spot distracted drivers. If you see the driver on the phone, step back a little before turning or changing lanes.
- Watch for turn signals, but don’t believe them. One of the best driving advice I’ve ever heard was, “Don’t take your turn until the other person has taken his.” If you turn right into a road and an oncoming vehicle has a turn signal turned on, you can assume that it will turn onto the road you are entering. However, they may have simply forgotten to turn off the signal. Remember that the driver behind the wheel of another car is a mistake prone person before you stop in front of a moving vehicle.
- Keep a safe distance just in case. This is a basic rule of the road that still needs to be repeated because many drivers simply do not understand it. If you get stuck in slow motion, if you stand directly on the bumper of the car in front, you will not get where you are going faster. Leave enough space between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you to brake sharply if necessary. Even if other drivers fill this space, you can always step back a little. Don’t be discouraged when leaving space allows others to merge. That’s just the point. Better to play it safe and let someone in than try to block them and accidentally hit someone from behind.
Until self-driving cars become commonplace, all other drivers you come across will be people just like you. They want to get where they are going as quickly as possible, they want others to follow the rules, and they will make mistakes. Realistic expectations and anticipation of failure can help you prevent accidents and stay safe.
Explore the roads around you, including those you don’t use
Google’s self-driving cars don’t just use sensors to see the world around them. They also use Google’s extensive map data to keep track of all the roads around them. When they approach an intersection, they know which different directions the car might be coming from, and even how heavy the traffic is on those roads during the day.
You will never have the kind of omniscience on the road that Google does, but you can better understand your surroundings using GPS on your phone. Even if you know your route by heart, place the pointer on your phone (before you start driving) and fix it in a place where you can see it while driving. Both Google Maps and Waze tell you when traffic will get worse soon . If you see freeway traffic suddenly turning red after half a mile, you better prepare to slow down when you need to. Note: this does not give you the right to be distracted while driving. Place your phone in a location where you can look at it like a speedometer, but don’t fiddle with it while driving.
You may also find more suitable routes on your way home. Particularly during busy times, GPS apps will suggest alternative routes to help you save time on the road. More importantly, it can help you stay alert. Once you get used to your route, you are more likely to disconnect and become distracted . This distraction can lead to accidents. Learning a different route keeps you interesting and helps you focus. Even if you don’t need to shorten your travel time, it might be worth hitting the alternate route button.
Watch out for obstacles outside the car in front of you
While you can spend most of your time focusing on the car in front of you while driving, self-driving cars give you a bigger picture of the world. Unlike humans, they can see in all directions at once. In fact, they can see more than humans. As Urmson demonstrates in the segment above, Google’s self-driving car was able to see a cyclist using laser sensors long before it was visible to the human eye. You know, this defective human eye that must be used to drive a car.
While you may not have the same visual aptitude as a self-driving car, you do have one superpower in your favor: object persistence . Being aware of where the cars around you are is very important if you want to avoid collisions. According to the Defensive Driving website, you should check your mirrors every five seconds while driving . This includes side mirrors and rear view mirrors. Since the traffic conditions around you can change quickly, checking frequently allows you to always know where cars and other objects are.
It’s also a good idea to look around when you’re at an intersection to see where other travelers are (and where they’re headed). In the cyclist example above, three cars driven by humans started to enter the intersection when their lights turned green. Glancing to the left before driving forward – or even driving slowly into an intersection instead of banging the gas pedal on the floor – could show drivers that the cyclist is crossing their lanes. Instead of using the red light as an excuse to check your phone because it is “safe,” look out the window and you can spot a potential accident before it happens.
Rely on safety, not unnecessary risk
If a human driver is faced with a choice between a risky lane change or a safe one, he may choose the risky option if he leads him to his destination earlier. On the other hand, for self-driving cars, safety is always more important than getting to your destination as quickly as possible.
It sounds great on paper, but instinctively we hate it . One anonymous reader of the Emerging Technologies Blog, who lives in California and sees experimental cars every day, said driverless cars “go like your grandmother.” This is often the case when the car is overly safe. They could move faster, so why not? This makes us angry! This anger and impulsiveness makes us bad drivers who think we are good, experienced drivers. On the other hand, self-driving cars do not become impulsive, as the same author noted:
They never leave the line first at a traffic light, they don’t accelerate quickly, they don’t accelerate, and they never risk changing lanes (cutting off people, etc.)
Google’s fully automated cars seem overly cautious at intersections with limited visibility: Think of a T-junction where a large truck or bushes are blocking visibility for a road that needs to turn left or right. The Google car I saw moved forward very slowly, with many pauses, as if it had stopped to orient itself, although it obviously did not move forward enough to “see” something. It seemed very safe, but if I was behind it, it would probably annoy me how long it took to actually make the commitment to get out and turn.
You may not be able to transform into an unfeeling robot while driving, but you can bet on safety rather than getting to your destination a little faster. If you could turn on the yellow light, if only you accelerate, slow down and wait. If you have barely enough room to turn left after three lanes, wait until you have enough room.
And if your blood boils from reading these sentences as much as from writing them, perhaps you (and I) should practice relaxation, rather than try to take more risks in order to save a couple of minutes on the way. The consequences of waiting longer will never be worse than being in an accident, destroying your car, or being able to injure or kill yourself or someone else.