Could this be the future of transport in Australia? Self-driving cars ‘safer’ than those driven by humans, study reveals
Self-driving cars are safer than those driven by humans, a study has found, but the advanced vehicles are more likely to crash in challenging weather conditions or when cornering.
The findings were revealed in a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature Communications, which analyzed crash data from 2,100 self-driving vehicles and more than 35,100 human-driven vehicles over a six-year period.
Transportation experts say the results could help auto companies justify further investments in the technology in an effort to reduce tolls.
The study comes after Australia’s National Transport Commission held a public consultation on the proposed Automated Vehicle Safety Law and rules to allow testing of autonomous cars on local roads.
The National Transport Commission recently collected public submissions on a regulatory framework for self-driving cars in Australia, noting that a ‘small number of automated vehicles’ could be imported by 2026 (stock image)
The analysis, by Mohamed Abdel-Aty and Shengxuan Ding of the University of Central Florida, compared traffic accident data from cars driven by technology and people between 2016 and 2022, including environmental conditions and actions at the time of the accidents.
They found that autonomous vehicles are safer on the roads than vehicles driven by humans under most conditions, with human drivers responsible for significantly more crashes caused by poor driving or inattention.
“It can be concluded that (advanced driving systems) are generally safer than (human-driven vehicles) in most crash scenarios due to object detection and avoidance, precise control and better decision-making,” the study said.
But the researchers identified two situations where self-driving cars were more likely to have accidents, with poor weather conditions such as rainy days and the low light of dawn and dusk posing challenges to their systems.
Autonomous cars also recorded more accidents while turning.
“The possible reasons may include a lack of situational awareness in complex driving scenarios and limited driving experience,” the study said.
Hussein Dia, a future professor of urban mobility at the University of Swinburne, told AAP the research underlined the promise of self-driving cars, even as it also proved the need for further research, development and testing.
Research shows that autonomous vehicles are less likely to have accidents, except in poor visibility (stock image)
“There is still a long way to go, but based on this data we are achieving safety levels that are better than those of human drivers, which is a good result,” he said.
‘The accidents are lower in almost all cases, except in these two cases. A database with major accidents was used.’
Prof Dia said the findings indicated that carmakers needed to improve vehicle sensors to take low-light conditions into account, and test the technology in complex driving situations.
“Before we put these vehicles on the road, we need to test them in confined environments or in simulations,” he said.
‘There are still teething problems and I would prefer these to be dealt with in confined spaces rather than on public roads because once accidents happen public confidence drops.’
The National Transport Commission recently collected public submissions on a regulatory framework for self-driving cars in Australia, noting that a “small number of automated vehicles” could be imported by 2026.