The Californian authorities have published, at the beginning of 2021, the results of the tests conducted by the self-driving car [4] manufacturers.
The ensuing report classified the manufacturers according to the degree of disengagement of the autonomous vehicle's driver, that is the moments when the driver had to intervene in the event of a malfunction.
Ranking 2020 of self-driving car manufacturers according to driver's disengagement
| Rank | Manufacturer | Disengagement rate per 1000 kilometers | Kilometers per disengagement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waymo | 0.021 | 47 911.5 |
| 2 | Cruise | 0.022 | 45 632.6 |
| 3 | AutoX | 0.031 | 32 587.0 |
| 4 | Pony.AI | 0.058 | 17 180.7 |
| 5 | Argo.AI | 0.059 | 16 829.5 |
| 6 | WeRide | 0.096 | 10 411.0 |
| 7 | DiDi | 0.120 | 8 321.0 |
| 8 | Nuro | 0.124 | 8 053.8 |
| 9 | Deeproute.AI | 0.187 | 5 343.0 |
| 10 | Zoox | 0.384 | 2 603.7 |
| 11 | QCraft | 1.319 | 758.2 |
| 12 | Aurora | 1.894 | 527.9 |
| 13 | Lyft | 2.349 | 425.8 |
| 14 | Gatik.AI | 2.923 | 342.1 |
| 15 | Apple | 4.321 | 231.4 |
| 16 | Nissan | 6.339 | 157.8 |
| 17 | BMW | 15.385 | 65.0 |
| 18 | Aimotive | 23.645 | 42.3 |
| 19 | Mercedes | 24.326 | 41.1 |
| 20 | NVIDIA | 25.757 | 38.8 |
| 21 | Qualcomm | 32.573 | 30.7 |
| 22 | SF Motors | 43.571 | 23.0 |
| 23 | Atlas R. | 131.579 | 7.6 |
| 24 | EasyMile | 188.791 | 5.3 |
| 25 | Toyota | 264.130 | 3.8 |
| 26 | Telenav | 333.333 | 3.0 |
| 27 | Udelv | 462.264 | 2.2 |
| 28 | Ridecell | 800.847 | 1.2 |
| 29 | Valeo | 1 269.231 | 0.8 |
Source : dmv.ca.gov
Dubai plans to automate 25% of its public transport by 2030
The United Arab Emirates are leading the field of transport technologies. The Gulf Cooperation Council has developed a global strategy focused on nanotechnologies, artificial intelligence, smart devices and digital transactions.
Dubai published the first guidebook on automated vehicles in 2018 and plans to introduce technological innovations in transport.
At the last World Government Summit held in Dubai in early February 2019, Mattar Al Tayer, head of the Emirati Road and Transport Authority announced an automation of 25% of public transports by 2030.
“Will you be using an autonomous air taxi as your future mode of transportation?” is a question posed at the same summit and to which 79% of respondents answered in the affirmative while 21% expressed doubts.
Insurance and self-driving cars
The arrival of self-driving cars is disrupting motor insurance. The current system based on the driver's fault would either disappear or be rearranged. The total absence of the driver makes the car manufacturer, the computer software developer(s) responsible for a disaster. This responsibility could possibly be sought with the driver when the latter's presence in the vehicle is necessary (intervention in case of technical problems, dangerous situations,...).
The generalization of this type of transport will not only result in job losses but also in a drastic decrease of the premiums collected by insurance companies. The purchase price of a self-driving car will logically include the insurance premium.
In spite of the technological advances, the generalization of the self-driving cars is not soon. Specialists note a significant social resistance. Some American citizens doubt the security level of this mode of transport. For example, in 2017, the city of Chandler (State of Arizona) recorded 24 attacks (stone throwing, vandalism, ...) against Waymo cars.