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How the Capacities and Impacts of Growing Degrees of Ground Automation can be

Communicated to and Understood by the General Public

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Academic Institution

Author Note

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Professor

December 14, 2021

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How the Capacities and Impacts of Growing Degrees of Ground Automation can be

Communicated to and Understood by the General Public

Ground automation already characterizes highway navigation in many countries. The

technology is already shaping the future of transport, yet major stakeholders are still debating its

full implementation. There exists an urgent need to communicate the potential impact of ground

automation on social dimensions and people residing within such infrastructure. Such initiatives

help people understand the extent to which ground automation enhances the efficiency of

transportation systems. This paper explores how the communication of scientific and

technological advances in ground automation influence people's understanding of the

transportation system's evolving capacity.

Impact Communication

Drivers spend much of their time searching for parking spaces in cities. While ground

automation creates the need for repurposing packing in the future, we cannot compare the

concerns with the reduced mortality rates from road accidents. Ground automation also resolves

parking issues in cities (Hancock et al., 2019). Full implementation of driverless cars technology

will provide cities with valuable land that was previously allocated for parking. Rezoning and

developing the spaces might create sustainable solutions within cities. The growing use of

automated vehicles makes it important to provide reliable information to the public to understand

how ground automation benefits their wellbeing.

Driverless cars influence the nature of available jobs. The technology is likely to make

taxi and truck drivers redundant. However, ground automation technologies come with new jobs

and skills demands. Drivers will have to supervise their vehicles from remote control centers.

The automated vehicles will also increase individuals' employment opportunities in economically
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dressed areas (Hancock et al., 2019). There are numerous research opportunities for scholars to

study automated vehicles. Moreover, trends suggest the creation of jobs in software

development, data science, planning, and engineering to support ground automation

technologies. Unfortunately, only skilled individuals will benefit from the employment

opportunities. Those less skilled and less educated people who technology will declare redundant

like drivers have minimal chances of retaining their current roles (Shammut, 2020). Using

journals and mainstream media to communicate the impacts of ground automation on

employment encourages people to acquire the sought-for skills to remain relevant in the labor

market.

Driverless cars fulfill the mobility needs of people who cannot drive, such as the elderly,

children, and the disabled (Hancock et al., 2019). The cars could support the sick, the frail, and

the disabled while ensuring other road users' safety. Senior citizens who maintain their

independence will access community gatherings, physician appointments, and food supplies vital

for wellness promotion. Transportation agencies need to provide thoughtful communication to

guide individuals with special mobility needs on making the best use of autonomous features in

driverless vehicles. This approach will ensure the effectiveness of ground automation

technologies in fulfilling everyone's transportation needs (Greig, 2021).

Autonomous vehicles can reduce the accidents attributable to human error. The vehicles

have integrated assistance systems that support drivers' safety needs. The systems provide

intersection assistance, collision avoidance and warning, and lane-centering assistance. On the

other hand, extreme weather conditions challenge the reliability of the technology and can cause

fatal collisions. Integrating machine learning algorithms in the automated vehicles' systems

enables the vehicles to learn from previous errors to avoid them in the future. This strategy
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significantly reduces adverse safety issues like fatal collisions (Shammut, 2020). A

communication gap exists because people tend to oppose ground automation technologies due to

reliability issues. For instance, Uber's test vehicle collision with a pedestrian in 2018 caused a lot

of concerns. Effective communication balances the numerous advantages of ground automation

with the few concerns raised (Hancock et al., 2019).

Driverless cars can travel many miles than conventional cars requiring physical steering.

This capability implies that they could increase energy consumption. The convenience of

traveling increases the number of miles traveled. People will make trips that they were unable to

do previously. Commuters from distant areas will rely on cars for transportation because they

will not be required to drive physically (Beeler, 2017). Informing the public about the

environmental impacts of overusing driverless vehicles can significantly enhance conservation

efforts. Besides, authorities need to make public declarations to increase awareness about energy

conservation needs.

Self-driving cars can reduce transportation energy consumption by 90 percent. Cars that

utilize fossil fuels contribute more than 25 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions.

Automated cars with computerized route optimization systems travel faster and have minimal

environmental impacts. The systems break and accelerate smoothly and guide the car toward

fuel-efficient routes (Worland, 2016). Thus, the highly effective technology is likely to reduce

car ownership. Moreover, integrating energy conservation communication into mainstream

media can spur behavior change and result in the acceptance of driverless cars (Shammut, 2020).

Conclusion

An informed society can judge and critically evaluate the advantages of automated

vehicles. Communicating the extended impacts of ground automation technologies helps the
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public judge their value (Hancock et al., 2019). The beneficial aspects of driverless cars include

improved social cohesion (Bonnefon et al., 2016). Using gains such as mobility and safety

assurance, strategic communication focusing to enhance public acceptance of ground automation

should focus on its impacts on the economic, social, and technical dimensions.
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References

Beeler, C. (2017). Driverless cars could either be 'scary' or great for the environment. The

World. www.theworld.org/stories/2017-04-18/driverless-cars-could-either-be-scary-or-

great-environment

Bonnefon, J. F., Shariff, A., & Rahwan, I. (2016). The social dilemma of autonomous

vehicles. Science (New York, N.Y.), 352(6293), 1573–1576.

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf2654

Greig, J. (2021). How autonomous vehicles could help the elderly and disabled in the near

future. TechRepublic. www.techrepublic.com/article/how-autonomous-vehicles-could-

help-the-elderly-and-disabled-in-the-near-future/.

Hancock, P. A., Nourbakhsh, I., & Stewart, J. (2019). On the future of transportation in an era of

automated and autonomous vehicles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

of the United States of America, 116(16), 7684–7691.

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1805770115

Shammut, M. (2020). Driverless Cars Implications: A Literature Review. Massey University.

Worland, J. (2016). Self-Driving Cars Could Help Save the Environment—Or Ruin It. It

Depends on Us. Time. www.time.com/4476614/self-driving-cars-environment/.