Anna Alegi

Mrs. Ross

Lit Comp 10

1 May 2017

Annotated Bibliography: Benefits of Autonomous Cars

Braithwaite, Graham. "Going Driverless: Can Self-driving Cars Gain Public Trust or Will They

be Derailed?" The Guardian, 14 Nov. 2016.

https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2016/nov/14/can-self-driving-cars-

gain-public-trust Accessed 30 Apr. 2017.

In this informative article Graham Braithwaite summarizes the results of KPMGs

research and shows readers how much a country could benefit from the introduction of

autonomous cars. Braithwaite says even though people are presented with promising statistics,

opposition still could cause problems with the public's perception and could result in major

delays with implementing the technology. The rest of the article outlines the clear positive

possibilities that self driving cars present; like reduced CO2 emissions and fewer accidents.

Additionally he states that autonomous cars provide opportunities for the elderly and those with

disabilities making the roads more accessible for everyone. This article was published in The

Guardian and the author is a professor and director of transport systems at Cranfield University

so the article is credible. The information in this article will help me inform readers about the

benefits of autonomous cars as an introduction to the topic to help them better understand the

more complex issues. The statistics and predictions that the author offers in the piece will be

used to persuade readers that the positive impacts relating to the widespread implementation of
autonomous cars far outweigh any ethical dilemmas or cost issues used by opponents who are

stuck in the past resisting change.

Kitroeff, Natalie. "'An Acceleration in Automation'." Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep, 2016, pp. A.1,

SIRS Issues Researcher.

http://sks.sirs.com/webapp/article?artno=0000388506&type=ART Accessed 30 Apr.

2017.

Natalie Kitroeff presents a unique perspective on the implementation of autonomous cars

from the point of view of truck drivers. Kitroeff says that in the near future people will be seeing

trucks with no drivers at all on the roads. The article says that taking the driver out of the

equation would save a huge amount of money for companies while greatly reducing the need for

human labor. While these autonomous vehicles will save lives and reduce fuel consumption, they

will also take jobs away from people who need these jobs and will increase the gap between the

upper and lower class. People also fear that this will lead to other unskilled jobs turning into

robot work and thus adding to inequality. The article is from the Los Angeles Times and was

found on SIRS so it is a valid source. Since there is a lot of information out there related to

things like safety benefits of autonomous cars it is important to show the human side of the issue

and some potential impacts of this technology on people in a negative way. This is not a clear cut

debate because obvious positives exist, like reducing fuel emissions and cutting down distracted

driving, but the truth is this technology will impact people in a much more complex way than

just safety benefits.

Maurer, Markus, J. Christian Gerdes, Barbara Lenz, and Hermann Winner. Autonomous Driving.

1 ed., Berlin Heidelberg, Springer-Verlag, 2016, pp. 69-82. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.

Patrick Lin argues the importance of ethics in the autonomous car debate with

hypothetical scenarios presenting ethical dilemmas. In unavoidable crash circumstances the car

would have to make a decision about who lives and who dies and all of the choices could be

considered in a way unethical. Lin goes into detail about possible discrimination and targeting

issues in what he calls crash-optimization where the car would be programmed with an

algorithm for the lowest amount of damage even if it involved hurting other people or vehicles.

These ethical dilemmas must be considered when deciding how and when to use self driving

cars. This information is a chapter in a book called Autonomous Driving published in 2016 so it

is a credible source. I will use this to illustrate peoples concerns with the use of self driving cars

and counter their argument by presenting research that shows positive impacts of self driving

cars. With improved technology like quicker reaction time and enhanced vision autonomous cars

will not rely on the algorithms that raise these ethical concerns.

"The Real American Carnage is on the Nation's Highways." USA TODAY, 28 Feb, 2017, pp. A.7,

SIRS Issues Researcher.

http://sks.sirs.com/webapp/article?artno=0000391954&type=ART Accessed 30 Apr.

2017.

Statistics show that even though cars are becoming safer and more advanced, the number

of fatalities on the roads is increasing. The author says the increase in deaths is related to

multiple factors, like an increase in teenagers driving in recent years, but they specifically
highlight the use of smartphones while driving as a likely cause of these fatal accidents. Almost

all states have implemented bans on texting while driving, yet the problem is still rampant on

Americas roads according to statistics provided by the author. They present the oppositions

viewpoint saying that they see anti texting laws as violations of their rights, and voices their

disagreement with that claim. This article was found on the SIRS database and was originally

published in USA Today, so it is a credible source. Although this article does a good job at

outlining the problem, the author gives little insight into a realistic, long term solution. This

article will be helpful for my paper because it focuses on an important safety issue that could be

nearly eradicated by autonomous cars. Something as simple as answering a text when the driver

is the sole operator of the vehicle can turn deadly if even a minor change happens on the road

ahead of them. Self driving cars would be programmed to drive at posted speed limits and can

detect obstacles on the road much faster than humans, which would reduce the number of

hazards, and save lives.

Sivak, Michael, and Brandon Schoettle. Road Safety With Self-Driving Vehicles: General

Limitations and Road Sharing With Conventional Vehicles. 1 ed., Ann Arbor, University

of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, 2015. Accessed 30 Apr. 2017.

This is an article that describes the research of Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle

from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. They begin by addressing

accident related fatalities as a significant issue related to public health. The driver cannot always

be faulted in a crash, which shows that self driving cars would not mean zero deaths of this kind.

They also concede that more research and testing must be done to make autonomous cars safe in
different types of weather because of problems with sensors capability. Older drivers and new

drivers will likely be impacted in a positive way by autonomous cars because they make

consistent decisions and fill in gaps where these kind of drivers are lacking. This was research

published at the University of Michigan so it is a valid source. They provide information on what

infrastructure will be necessary to start using autonomous cars on a large scale and crash

statistics in different age demographics. In my paper I will highlight what demographics this

kind of technology will be useful for. Self driving cars will reduce driving fatalities for people

specifically older and younger drivers.