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What Will Be the Impact of Self-driving Cars in Canada?

What Will Be the Impact of Self-driving Cars in Canada Featured Image

A self-driving car is still a dream for the future world. Did you ever think about how the experience will be when your co-driver is a computer beside you? This is just so amazing when you think of it.

The future is running toward automated driving cars because technologies surround us. We are enamored with technology. Whether traffic, commuting, road rage, environment, or economics- we want to solve these problems using technology.

So the self-driving car is not a dream anymore; it can be one of the finest useful things to use. However, we need to know the impact of self-driving cars in Canada. This article will discuss all the pros and cons of self-driving cars as well as how they can affect automobile insurance, law, and transportation in Canada.

What is a Self-driving Car?

Come out from the dream world first before thinking about how a self-driving car will look. Do not dream that you will be sitting in the car reading newspaper, and your car will automatically be driving to the destination.

A self-driving car or autonomous vehicle will detect the surrounding environment through artificial intelligence, sensors, and global positioning system coordinates. So, a driver needs to pay full attention to driving, just like a train conductor. You will have full right to override the automated system whenever you want.

There are different levels of automation in vehicles. For example, cruise control, parking assist, brake assist features are available in automated vehicles. A new automated system can be even more capable than the available systems on roads.

Artificial intelligence makes a self-driving automated car possible. Radar, cameras, and light detection and ranging work together to determine the object’s distance and speed on the road.

There are 5 levels of self-driving cars, which are as follows:

  • Level 0: Controlled by a human driver
  • Level 1: Automated cruise and brake control
  • Level 2: Simultaneous two automated functions. For example, accelerate and brake control—human needs for further operation.
  • Level 3: All management is done automatically. Human operation is needed only when alerted. 
  • Level 4: Full autonomous driving.
  • Level 5: Self-driving in any situation.

You may expect a gradual transfer of control from the driver to an automatic system in the future.

Who is Making Self Driving Cars?

Not only are tech companies investigating and developing self-driving cars for our roads. Automobile manufacturers are also experimenting with new car features and fully driverless vehicles.

These businesses are pioneering real-world testing:

Waymo:

Waymo started in 2009 as Google Self-Driving Car Project. They started their customized service in 2015. Their car project passed a test with a blind man test drive.

Tesla:

Tesla was founded by Elon Musk- one of the few automakers that do not use LiDAR; instead, they developed their version. Tesla’s autonomous capabilities are enabled by ultrasonic, radar, and 2D camera systems.

They have over 600,000 vehicles on the road worldwide and are constantly looking for ways to put completely autonomous vehicles on the road.

General Motor’s Division:

General Motors has 111 years of automotive manufacturing experience, which gives them an advantage over IT businesses. Cruise obtained approval from the California Department of Motor Vehicles to eliminate human backup drivers and develop cars that do not require gasoline.

These are only the top three businesses working on self-driving cars. Apple, BMW, Audio, Lyft, Uber, and Volkswagen are other options.

Ontario is the only province where driverless cars are allowed in Canada. The permission is granted from 2019. But the test drives on public roads need to maintain strict conditions.

BlackBerry’s QNX, Magna, Uber, and the University of Waterloo are testing vehicles in Canada now. But the vehicles are not fully autonomous. Once autonomous vehicles are available, they can be run on Ontario roads.

How Will Self-driving Cars Affect Insurance?

There is no doubt that automated vehicles will have a lot of impact on insurance. The impact will be on the premiums, the coverage, and the payment. But what will it be? The exact impact is unknown as complete automated vehicles are still not on the roads.

Some vehicles are featured with semi-automation. The decision of insurance on the driverless car is still unknown and unclear. Automation levels will decide the price to reflect the extent of automation once these vehicles become industry standards. Traditional risk variables like driving history and age may be eliminated as a result.

Another issue is who should be blamed for the accident? Should it be the driver’s fault or the manufacturer’s? To ensure that autonomous vehicle advancements do not stall, liability regulations will evolve. That’s why a car accident insurance claim would be a total puzzle.

In general, high degrees of autonomy are expected to improve safety profiles, resulting in fewer accidents.

Are Self-driving Cars Safe?

Mostly, people do not rely on automated vehicles. Tesla and Uber have some accidents on public roads, which caused trust issues among people. But with the development of technologies, the safety of driverless vehicles will also increase. But right now, there is no recent study that can tell that driverless car is completely safe.

Advantages of Self-driving Cars:

Let’s take a look at the advantages of self-driving cars:

  • Self-driving cars are tended to have fewer accidents because they have fewer driving errors. It will also help reduce cost because fewer accidents will ultimately help you minimize the cost.
  • Automatic cars help recapture your time as you can focus on your work, schedules, meetings, and a lot. So, you will save time for your prioritized work.
  • Your driving stress will be relieved with automated vehicles as you do not need to monitor the weather forecast or road conditions and traffic issues anymore.
  • People who are physically disabled can also take the taste to drive.
  • It saves fuel cost; thus, it is very cost-effective.

Disadvantages of Self-driving Cars:

Let’s take a look at the disadvantages of self-driving cars:

  • Sometimes, the equipment of automated cars is costly. You need to spend more money on automated software and sensors materials.
  • Automated vehicles can target hackers as they will contain the owner’s personal information.
  • Some unexpected glitches can occur, which may cause an accident. There is always safety and security concern in automated cars.
  • Sensors can be failed due to technical errors, which may lead to accidents. Even sensors can be failed due to weather changes.
  • With the rise of artificial intelligence, job opportunities can be lessening. Taxi and truck copilot’s necessity cannot be felt anymore, impacting the employment rate.

Final Thoughts

Technologies are improving day by day. Everything will be controlled by technology one day. Automated cars add high technology that will grab the market soon.

So, there should be available insurance policies so that if there are any accidents, they can be covered through appropriate insurance policies.

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