Autonomous Vehicles

Featured

  • A self-driving car being developed by nuTonomy

    Article

    Why Waiting for Perfect Autonomous Vehicles May Cost Lives

    Nov 7, 2017

    Some people think autonomous vehicles must be flawless before humans take their hands off the wheel. But putting AVs on the road before they're perfect improves the technology more quickly—and could save hundreds of thousands of lives over time.

  • An autonomous car scans the road and stops at a crosswalk

    Report

    How AV Safety Can Be Defined, Tested, and Measured

    Oct 11, 2018

    The race to introduce automated vehicles to consumers and communities is based on the promise that they will be safer than conventional vehicles. A new framework for measuring AV safety provides the public, automotive industry, and policymakers with clearer ways to discuss AV technology issues.

Explore Autonomous Vehicles

  • Interior of autonomous car with ones and zeroes superimposed, photo by metamorworks/Getty Images

    Commentary

    Why AV Safety and Cybersecurity Need to Be Pursued in Tandem

    Safety and cybersecurity are generally pursued by separate teams within autonomous vehicle companies. A joint approach to standards could optimize safety and cybersecurity and reduce overall risks to autonomous vehicle operation.

    Mar 20, 2019

  • Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi listen as President Donald Trump delivers his second State of the Union address in Washington, February 5, 2019

    Blog

    State of the Union: Insights from RAND

    To shed light on a wide range of topics that figured in President Trump's second State of the Union address, we've rounded up insights from some of RAND's objective and nonpartisan research, analysis, and expertise.

    Feb 6, 2019

  • A road work sign on California Highway 101 north warns, "be prepared to stop"

    Commentary

    How to Make Roads Safer for Autonomous Vehicles

    No matter how much developers test autonomous vehicles, the world will still present unforeseen circumstances for vehicles to navigate. Roadways and vehicle design could be modified to better accommodate both human error and the shortcomings of autonomous vehicle systems.

    Feb 6, 2019

  • Sailors and civilian personnel remotely pilot an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) from ashore several miles away, photo by Ken Rose/U.S. Navy

    Report

    Advancing Autonomous Systems: An Analysis of Current and Future Technology for Unmanned Maritime Vehicles

    In this report, RAND researchers explore current and potential military applications of autonomous systems, focusing especially on unmanned undersea vehicles and unmanned surface vehicles.

    Jan 4, 2019

  • Car driving autonomously with LIDAR sensor

    Commentary

    The New AV Challenge: Creating a Universal Safety Framework

    Autonomous vehicle developers are pursuing different safety strategies and technologies, making different claims, in different ways, about their systems. A universal framework could provide a more consistent and transparent view of progress in AV safety within and across the industry, better informing the public and policymakers.

    Nov 2, 2018

  • Senior couple in a car

    Commentary

    How AVs Could Provide Independence for Older Drivers

    Giving up driving has been linked to depression and isolation in older adults, as well as early entry into nursing home facilities. Autonomous vehicles could help improve the well-being of older adults by allowing them to maintain independence while still giving up their car keys.

    Sep 21, 2018

  • AutoNOMOS self-driving car drives during a presentation in Zurich, Switzerland, May 12, 2015

    Commentary

    What If Autonomous Vehicles Actually Make Us More Dependent on Cars?

    Cities across Europe are taking steps to become increasingly car free. Mayors, supported by their officials and planners, should start leading a debate now about how self-driving vehicles can best serve the needs of residents and visitors, and help deliver wider goals for their cities.

    Jun 19, 2018

  • A self-driving car being developed by nuTonomy, a company creating software for autonomous vehicles, is guided down a street near their offices in Boston, Massachusetts, June 2, 2017

    Report

    Rethinking Insurance and Liability in the Transformative Age of Autonomous Vehicles

    What are the challenges and opportunities for the automobile insurance industry as autonomous vehicle technology becomes widely deployed? This workshop brought together industry stakeholders, regulators, and consumer representatives to focus on the implications of AV technology for insurance and liability regimes.

    Jun 8, 2018

  • Aerial view of a highway with cars and trucks in the middle of a green forest

    Report

    Could U.S. Road Deaths Reach Zero by 2050?

    Motor vehicle crashes kill more than 100 Americans every day and are the leading cause of death for people age 15 to 24. A strategy that includes changes in policy, technology, and social norms could substantially improve road safety and lead to zero roadway deaths by 2050.

    Apr 19, 2018

  • Report

    Report

    The Road to Zero: Executive Summary: A Vision for Achieving Zero Roadway Deaths by 2050

    Imagine that, in 2050, not a single person in the United States dies in a traffic crash. This executive summary to The Road to Zero: A Vision for Achieving Zero Roadway Deaths by 2050 describes how that might be possible.

    Apr 19, 2018

  • Journal Article

    Journal Article

    A Common EU Approach to Liability Rules and Insurance for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles: European Added Value Assessment Accompanying the European Parliament's Legislative Own-Initiative Report

    The findings of this European added value assessment (EAVA) suggest that it is necessary to revise the current legislative EU framework for liability rules and insurance for connected and autonomous vehicles.

    Mar 28, 2018

  • Depiction of self-driving cars in road lanes

    Multimedia

    Safety in a World of Driverless Cars

    In this Call with the Experts, senior information scientist Nidhi Kalra discusses a RAND study that shows putting driverless cars on the road before they're nearly perfect could save lives, and also describes new approaches for safety standards.

    Feb 15, 2018

  • Autonomous vehicles on a highway

    Commentary

    Ensuring Cybersecurity Is Vital for a Driverless Future

    High-profile accidents involving autonomous vehicles (AVs) have led to recent discussions about the physical safety of people. However, it could be argued that consumers and manufacturers should be equally, if not more, concerned about the potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities in AVs.

    Feb 12, 2018

  • The new Smart concept autonomous car Vision EQ fortwo model is presented during the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany, September 12, 2017

    Commentary

    Autonomous Vehicles: Terrorist Threat or Security Opportunity?

    Terrorist groups that track developments in technology could be considering using self-driving cars in place of suicide bombers or for ramming attacks. But autonomous vehicle capabilities offer a range of potential benefits to law enforcement and security operations, too.

    Jan 3, 2018

  • Autonomous vehicles

    Commentary

    Driverless Cars: The Race Is On for Policy to Catch Up

    Driverless cars could be tested on Britain’s roads by 2021. While this is likely to be great news to many, the race is now on for policymaking to catch up. Why? Because driverless cars could substantially change more than just the way people travel.

    Nov 27, 2017

  • A still image from the Autonomous Vehicle Safety Scenario Explorer tool showing a line and bar chart, comparing future scenarios with autonomous vehicles against a future without AVs.

    Tool

    Autonomous Vehicle Safety Scenario Explorer

    How safe should autonomous vehicles be before they are allowed on the road for consumer use? To help explore answers to that question, the Safety Scenario Explorer compares future scenarios and estimates the resulting fatalities against a future without autonomous vehicles.

    Nov 7, 2017

  • A self-driving Uber drives in Pittsburgh during a media preview

    Report

    Deploying Autonomous Vehicles Before They're Perfect Will Save More Lives

    Autonomous vehicles should only have to be moderately better than human drivers before being widely used in the United States. This approach could save thousands of lives annually even before the technology is perfected.

    Nov 7, 2017

  • A self-driving car (L) being developed by nuTonomy, a company creating software for autonomous vehicles, is guided down a street near their offices in Boston, Massachusetts, June 2, 2017

    Report

    Model of Automated Vehicle Safety (MAVS)

    The safety of autonomous vehicles is a principal concern for the transportation industry, policymakers, and the public. Comparing the impact on road fatalities under many different scenarios can help understand the circumstances in which autonomous vehicles can provide the greatest safety benefit.

    Nov 7, 2017