Research Proposal: How would autonomous vehicle impact people in American society?
Introduction
The debate about autonomous cars and their perceived impact often draws mixed reactions from different communities across the United States. Although at the testing stage, it is apparent that sooner, driverless cars will be the next new thing. Both positive and negative impacts are projected upon the commercialization of the autonomous vehicles in American society. There are those that project that AVs will be a game-changer in the transportation industry yielding great benefits to the public across the country. Also, some feel that autonomous cars might be accompanied by major issues such as accidents and thus, lead to devastation among the people. However, regardless of the mixed reactions, it is essential to seek insights from experts from different fields that are related to the use of autonomous vehicles in the United States. It is from the expert opinions that it would be possible to deliberate on the impacts that are most likely to be characterized among people of different walks across America.
Problem statement
The entry of autonomous vehicles in societies across the United States in the near future will have huge impacts on the way of life of many people. The average American spends about one hour each day driving, with Harvard Health Watch estimating that number at over 101 minutes while AAA Foundation estimates the same as 48 minutes. Thus, it is inevitable that people spend a lot of time in their cars moving from one point to another. Therefore, a great deal of their time is occupied by being behind the steering wheel driving from one place to another. Also, with the issue of traffic jams in major cities across the United States, the productivity of many people is limited as they spend substantial amounts of time driving themselves every day. Also, it becomes difficult for people to have some extra time to relax or enjoy some form of entertainment. Furthermore, for people with disabilities, conventional cars do not allow easy mobility, and most of the time, they would need someone to drive them from one point to the other. For example, those with visual impairment, it is not possible to drive themselves around the cities or from one place to another. Moreover, people with severe disabilities are usually not able to drive themselves, and thus, they would need a solution to improve their mobility. Therefore, the conventional cars available in the market in the country fail to provide some benefits, especially to people with disabilities, as well as some other conditions. Furthermore, human error has been a major cause of accidents across the country, and thus, there is a need to find solutions to reduce the death toll from road carnage. More specifically, the study will focus on addressing the following research questions:
- How will the commercialization of autonomous vehicles address the issue of time management of people in American societies?
- How will autonomous vehicles enhance the mobility of people, and especially, people with disabilities?
- How will autonomous vehicles affect the number of accidents that occur in the United States each year?
Objectives
The long term goal of the research will be to identify the benefits that would be brought about by autonomous vehicles once they get commercialized in the United States. The objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive review of literature in relation to the projected benefits associated with the use of autonomous vehicles when they will be fully realized in America. The research will particularly entail the following sub-objectives:
- To discuss the projected benefits of using autonomous vehicles in the daily activities of people in American societies.
- To review the anticipated impact of autonomous vehicles on the lives of Americans, and in particular, the disabled community.
- To explore and understand the effect that autonomous vehicles would have on the issue of road carnage that seems to continue increasing each year.
Preliminary Literature Review
According to Bizon et al (2014), autonomous vehicles are the future of the transport sector in the United States. The autonomous cars that are being tested for commercial use in the near future will create a safer transportation environment. As per Bizon et al (2014), the introduction of autonomous vehicles in the US would have common vehicle-related injuries and deaths drastically reduced. As a result, it would typically affect almost every aspect of American societies, from the health care industry, emergency personnel, as well as police and other resources, which would be freed up to allow them to respond to other incidents (Bizon et al ., 2014). Also, it is estimated that the impact would also be felt in auto insurance as the frequency of accidents would eventually reduce substantially.
According to Herrman et al (2018), autonomous driving is projected to revolutionize the world and act as a game-changer in the transportation sector. The commercialization of the autonomous vehicles from small cars to buses would yield major benefits to people across the different societies in the United States. Among the key elements of the positive impacts of the autonomous vehicle that would be likely characterized is improved productivity, as well as the creation of extra time for people to relax while on the go. As per Herman et al (2018), the transportation sector would enjoy the benefit of people being ferried by vehicles that are void of human error, in which accidents would drastically reduce across the United States.
As per Simons (2020), the driverless cars will cause major distraction in commercial trucking and ridesharing, since humans would no longer be needed for purposes of driving. Considering that there are more than 1.5 million truck drivers in the United States, the effect of autonomous vehicles will be felt across the country. Sectors involving taxi drivers and Uber drivers will face major challenges as their services will no longer be lucrative in the job market. However, most of the commercial vehicles will still require to have humans manage them through the journey, as well as help with other works that do not entail driving (Simons, 2020). Also, commercial delivery is anticipated to significantly improve upon the realization of autonomous vehicles in the transportation sector.
According to Wadhwa et al (2017), the technology behind autonomous vehicles is projected to yield safer driving in the near future. The autonomous vehicles are designed to eliminate the aspect of human error, which is usually the major cause for road carnage in the United States. Autonomous vehicles, as well as semi-autonomous vehicles, are developing safety features that are meant to ensure that chances of a car being involved in an accident are substantially reduced (Wadhwa et al 2017). Although the majority of these safety features are yet to show major successes in most test drives of AVs, it will eventually get to a point where all aspects of human error are eliminated by a greater percentage.
Methodology
In the research paper, I plan to rely on library-based methodology to find reliable information about the topic of study. I have identified four primary sources, which I have retrieved online from the California State University Fullerton library database. Nonetheless, I will also continue to look for more resources and more so peer-reviewed articles that would be available in the CSUF library database. Considering that my approach for the research paper will be library based, I plan to use qualitative research methodology. In this regard, I will utilize this research methodology to explore, examine, and investigate the impact that autonomous vehicles would have on people in American societies. Thus, the methodology will mainly involve gathering relevant information from scholarly materials from the CSUF library databases.
References
Bizon, D, Mahdavi T, Bizon N, and Dascalescu L. (2014). Autonomous Vehicles: Intelligent Transport Systems and Smart Technologies. New York: Nova Publishers.
Herrmann A, Walter B, & Rupert S. (2018). Autonomous Driving: How the Driverless Revolution Will Change the World. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing.
Simons, R. A. (2020). Driverless Cars, Urban Parking and Land Use. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge.
Wadhwa V, Alex S, & Alex W.. (2017). The Driver in the Driverless Car: How Our Technology Choices Will Create the Future. First edition. Oakland: BK Berrett Koehler Publishers, Inc., a BK Business Book.