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The main aim is a fully autonomous car that gets rid of the cause of most accidents: the driver, Hodgson points out, ＂For the sake of safety, the faster you can remove humans, the better, even if there are unfortunately a few accidents from new causes. It's a question of balancing the number injured or killed by autonomous vehicles with the people whose lives are potentially saved.＂
It's a theme that Elon Musk, head of electric car company Tesla Motors, has long supported. His company is determined to be the first to deliver a fully autonomous vehicle to consumers. Last year, Musk announced that Tesla's 2017 goal was ＂to do a demonstration ( 示 范 ) drive of full autonomy all the way from LA to New York...and have the car park itself.＂
However, even Tesla admits that there are problems to overcome — the software needs further confirmation and the appropriate regulatory (监管的) approval needs to be in place. Indeed, recent crashes of Tesla vehicles and Google cars confirm that the software isn't ready yet.
The UK government appears determined to encourage the development of autonomous vehicles. It's supporting four city trials, publishing the Modern Transport Bill to reduce red tape around their introduction and adapting the legal system to take into account issues such as insurance liability when a human isn't in control of a vehicle.
The insurance industry is similarly keen to promote increasing autonomy in cars. As the Association of British Insurers (ABI) points out: ＂More than 90 per cent of road accidents are attributed to human errors.＂ This costs motor insurers a surprising £20 per day in claims.
