The Evolution of Automated Safety Technologies:

                         What does this mean for you as a driver?

                                           Is there anything unusual about this car?

General Motors is getting ready to ditch the driver for good—at least in its newest R&D vehicles. In 2019, Cruise—the self-driving startup acquired a couple of years ago by GM—wants to begin testing the fourth generation of its autonomous vehicle, the Cruise AV.
(This is a modified Chevrolet Bolt EV, no relation to the Chevrolet Cruze.)

The company has filed a safety petition with the US Department of Transportation requesting permission to deploy the fourth-generation Cruise AV, which will be completely driverless, without any steering wheel, pedals, or other form of manual controls.
— Read Full Article by Jonathan M. Gitlin /  Ars Technica

The Evolution of AST:
A number of today’s new motor vehicles have technology that helps drivers avoid drifting into adjacent lanes or making unsafe lane changes, or that warns drivers of other vehicles behind them when they are backing up, or that brakes automatically if a vehicle ahead of them stops or slows suddenly, among other things.
These and other safety technologies use a combination of hardware (sensors, cameras, and radar) and software to help vehicles identify certain safety risks so they can warn the driver to act to avoid a crash.

The continuing evolution of automotive technology aims to deliver even greater safety benefits and – one day – deliver Automated Driving Systems (ADS) that can handle the whole task of driving when we don’t want to or can’t do it ourselves.

Overview of AVS

Automated Vehicles for Safety

The continuing evolution of automotive technology aims to deliver even greater safety benefits and Automated Driving Systems (ADS) that-one day-can handle the whole task of driving when we don't want to or can't do it ourselves. Fully automated cars and trucks that drive us, instead of us driving them, will become a reality.

AVs full societal benefits are difficult to project, the transformative potential of automated vehicles and their driver assistance features can also be understood by reviewing U.S. demographics and the communities these technologies could help to support.

For example, automated vehicles may also provide new mobility options to millions more Americans. Today there are 49 million Americans over age 65 and 53 million people have some form of disability.

In many places across the country employment or independent living rests on the ability to drive. Automated vehicles could extend that kind of freedom to millions more.
One study suggests that automated vehicles could create new employment opportunities for approximately 2 million people with disabilities. A necessary conversation to continue; the benefits of this transformative technology.
The future is closer than you think.

Update: SAN FRANCISCO — A woman in Tempe, Ariz., died after being hit by a self-driving car operated by Uber, in what appears to be the first known death of a pedestrian struck by an autonomous vehicle on public roads. Report via NYT