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from the I'm-sorry-Dave,-I-can't-do-that dept.
[...] some experts believe as much as 95% of passenger miles could be electric, autonomous by 2030, thanks to some basic economics. Because electric vehicles cost a whole lot less to drive and maintain—but more to buy—and because autonomous vehicles greatly reduce the cost of commercial driving, a combination of the two technologies will make autonomous Transportation as a Service exponentially more cost competitive than either owning a car, or hiring a car and driver. It's also exponentially more profitable for car companies, who have long feared the loss of maintenance and service profits associated with a transition to electric cars.
This question will come up more frequently as self-driving technology advances. Will perfection of that technology make a difference, though, in the face of social behaviors that have been deeply ingrained over the past century?
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Wednesday July 26 2017, @04:32PM (1 child)
I think eventually the insurance on a non-self driving car will be out of reach for most people and dirt cheap fpr autonomous cars. Face it, people drive very badly, at least where I live. But I don't foresee ever not being able to buy a car.
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(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday July 27 2017, @02:09AM
Why would that be? The frequency and severity of accidents is going to go down with self-driving cars because the roads are safer for everyone, right? And we can revoke the drivers license of the worst drivers on the road (something like 5% of US drivers are responsible for both the majority of accidents on the road and particularly negligent behavior like drunk driving) which in itself will make roads far safer and insurance less costly for everyone.