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One thing I've been wondering is whether self driving cars could result in lower emissions by never exceeding the speed limit, and by driving more smoothly than
by siskiyou 5y ago
One thing I've been wondering is whether self driving cars could result in lower emissions by never exceeding the speed limit, and by driving more smoothly than a human operator. Additionally, I wonder if having even say 10% of cars on the road that never exceed the speed limit would result in most other cars nearby driving the speed limit as well, since they would effectively block non-self-driving cars from speeding in many areas. Speeding is dangerous for all other road users, so there should be safety benefits as well. Why not require all self driving cars to drive at legal speeds?
- Rayhem 5y agoThere's also something to be said for automated "road trains". There are enormous aerodynamic benefits if 20 or 30 (autonomous) vehicles can communicate and link up with each other to drive at exactly the same speed.
- bagacrap 5y agowhy not? Because some people would choose not to buy the car if they had to drive it at the speed limit across the empty expanses that make up their favorite road trip, or through areas where the limit is lower than it "ought" to be. I think speed limits are set based on safety concerns more than environmental ones, and in that sense self driving cars should probably be allowed more speed not less. I claim without evidence that the greater contributor to inefficient fuel use is needlessly abrupt acceleration and deceleration, rather than top speed, and hopefully self driving cars do help with that.