Automated Vehicles: A Guide for Planners and Policymakers

<p>Automated vehicles are those which are capable of sensing their environments in order to perform at least some aspects of the safety-critical control (like steering, throttling, or braking) without direct human input. As a guide for planners and policymakers, the objective of this thesis is to develop a strong foundation for anticipating the potential impacts resulting from advancements in vehicle automation. To establish the foundation, this thesis uses a robust qualitative methodology, coupling a review of literature on the potential advantages and disadvantages of vehicle automation and lessons from past innovations in transportation, with recent trends of the Millennial Generation, carsharing services, and a series of interviews with thought-leaders in automation, planning, policymaking, transportation, and aviation. Five significant findings emerged from this thesis: (1) the impacts of vehicle automation differ depending on one’s visions of what automation means, how it is implemented, what the automation does, and where it operates; (2) current limitations of vehicle automation to perform all aspects of the dynamic driving task in all driving conditions make it difficult to move from level-4 to level-5 automation; (3) level-5 automation is required to have any effect on carsharing, mobility, and quality of life; (4) assuming effective planning and policymaking techniques, housing preferences, urban growth, and increases in total VMT will likely not be significantly impacted by vehicle automation; (5) human drivers may never be allowed to disengage their attention from a partially-automated vehicle, specifically in applications where drivers are expected to reengage their attention in safety-critical situations. From the perspective of understanding the bigger picture, this thesis developed a proposed future scenario of vehicle automation in the next five to ten years that is used to suggest guiding principles for policymakers, and key recommendations for planners, engineers, and researchers.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of City and Regional Planning/MS in Engineering (Transportation Planning Specialization)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

City and Regional Planning

Year dc:date.available

2016

Author dc:creator

• Coles, Charlie

Contributors dc:contributor

• William Riggs

• Automated Vehicles
• Autonomous Vehicles
• Self Driving Cars
• Transportation
• Planning
• Policymaking
• Transportation Engineering
• Urban, Community and Regional Planning

Identifier

10.15368/theses.2016.7

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.calpoly.edu:theses-2700