How will driverless cars affect society? In a recent interview with Architecture & Design, Urbis Transport Advisory Director Graham McCabe explains.
According to Graham McCabe, transport will become a key influencer on the spatial structure, density and land use characteristics of cities, as well as having a marked effect on human safety and wellbeing.
“Driverless cars are expected to lead to a decrease in the number of people killed or hospitalised from road accidents, but the wellbeing of our communities may suffer from an increased reliance on passive transport if good planning and design doesn’t emphasise walking and bicycling.”
Moreover he says, “Many governments initially caught the technology bug, and like the Mobility as a Service concept, bought the line that self-driving cars will solve congestion and crashes.”
“More lately, they have come around to the understanding that while these cars will make driving safer by not relying on fallible and distracted humans, they could also increase congestion.”