These are the stakeholders - legislators, regulators, insurers, car companies and drivers
Google has been talking to the first four groups for a decade. The last one, not so much.
The first four can see the major financial advantages of these cars, and are doing all they can to make them happen.
Insurers Like Self-Drive Cars Because Will Reduce Repair Costs
Insurers are already profiting from improvements in car safety - their repair costs are going down faster than premiums.
Autonomous cars will eliminate a lot of accidents, but will also decrease the need for insurance.
At first, regulators will demand high levels of third party insurance in anticipation of law suits, particularly in America. The policy costs that most car owners incur will be wrapped into the hourly charge for an autonomous car.
But long term insurers will have a hole in their accounts - they will be able to charge high risk premiums to those who insist on keeping their old cars, but still won't make up for the millions who won't need a policy.
Auto theft insurance will just about disappear.
Bottom line - insurers see that autonomous cars are coming, and want to be the survivors.
London Times 4 June 2016
Wary motorists may be won over as research suggests autonomous vehicles will drive down premiums and reduce accidents.
Driverless cars are no longer the stuff of science fiction. With carmakers and the tech giant Google investing heavily in the technology, experts say they will become a common sight on British roads within the next decade.
Unlike the “Johnnycab” in the film Total Recall, driven by a creepy mechanical dummy, the new vehicles should prove to be a good thing. Research by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) suggests that driverless cars will cut serious road traffic accidents by more than 25,000 a year by 2030 and have a positive effect on all motor insurance premiums.
The motor trade’s enthusiasm mirrors that of the government. In last month’s opening of parliament, the Queen said: “My ministers will ensure the United Kingdom is at the forefront of technology for new forms of transport, including autonomous and electric vehicles.”
The government had signalled its support this year by giving the green light for £20 million to be used to pay for further extensive trials on the roads. The plan is to develop a range of driverless technologies to benefit everyone from the visually impaired to general motorists. Autonomous vehicles have been tested on the streets of Britain for some time, albeit with an evervigilant human co-pilot. Greenwich, Coventry and Bristol have hosted trials, but the ante will be upped next year, when driverless cars are tested on motorways.
The motor sector, alongside Google, which has developed some significant prototypes, has not been slow in moving towards the driverless car. Although fully automated vehicles in which you could safely read a book or fall asleep at the wheel may be almost a decade off, there is clear progress in the right direction.
According to the SMMT, adapted cruise control is fitted as standard in more than 5 per cent of cars, and it’s an option in more than a quarter. Blindspot monitoring is to be found in more than a third of cars, often as a bolt-on, while autonomous emergency breaking is a standard feature in almost 20 per cent of cars.
David Williams, the director of underwriting at AXA Insurance, says: “The main reason that driverless technology is exciting from an insurance perspective is because it has the potential to significantly reduce the number of accidents on the roads and the injuries and deaths caused by those accidents. It is thought that the reduction could be as much as 50 per cent, and that can only be good news for road safety. If those reductions do take place, car insurance premiums would also reduce significantly as a consequence.”
Premiums should fall for all cars because insurers pool the cost of claims, but experts say the reductions will be gradual as the technology improves and becomes more affordable.
Thatcham Research, the insurance industry’s automotive research division, estimates that by 2018 it will be possible to make use of an autopilot feature that will allow the driver to take their hands off the steering wheel for up to three minutes at a time while on a motorway, before an alert is signalled. This feature would allow a driver to take an important phone call or check their sat-nav.
A few years later cars will come equipped with lasers, radar, cameras and other sensors, enabling them to drive themselves safely. By 2025 it’s estimated that cars will be able to negotiate traffic, lights and perform all types of actions that were once the domain of the driver — now, in effect, a passenger.
What happens to accident numbers and motor premiums will be key to the take-up of driverless technology. Premiums have been increasing recently, and they are expected to rise again this year, according to the AA. The main reasons for the increase are a high number of whiplash-related claims and the fallout from last November’s increase in insurance premium tax.
However, when it comes to the future of driving on UK roads, investments in safety features and driverless technology are expected to result in premiums falling as the human element is taken out of driving. Only time will tell whether drivers are content to relinquish control of the steering wheel, sit back and enjoy the ride. However, money talks, and if premiums do start to fall, many motorists may be swayed in favour of the new technology.
These are the stakeholders who want Self-Drive Cars
These are the stakeholders who want Self-Drive Cars