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Surface Transportation

Testimony

Realizing Autonomous Vehicle Safety

Autonomous vehicles hold enormous promise for transportation safety. But feasible, sound methods of testing need to be developed. In the meantime, policymakers should work to foster the development of self-driving vehicles while lowering their risks.

Feb 14, 2017
Multimedia

Challenges and Approaches to Realizing Autonomous Vehicle Safety

An overview of testimony by Nidhi Kalra submitted to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection on February 14, 2017.

Feb 14, 2017
Infographic

Don't Rely on Test-Driving Alone to Assess Autonomous Vehicle Safety

Americans drive three trillion miles a year, causing one death every 100 million miles. To prove that autonomous vehicles are safer than humans, they would have to be test-driven astronomical distances. Regulators should pursue other ways of reducing uncertainty about AV safety.

Jan 9, 2017
Testimony

Shaping the Future of Autonomous Vehicles

More than 90 percent of car crashes are caused by human errors. Will self-driving vehicles help mitigate this risk? To answer this question, experts must address how safety is measured and determine the threshold of safety required before autonomous vehicles are on the roads.

Nov 16, 2016
Commentary

Rebuilding America's Infrastructure in the Trump Era

Policymakers generally agree on the need to rebuild America's infrastructure. But the country is far behind in this area. Why? Transportation projects take time and money. And it's hard to predict how a project will affect its surroundings.

Nov 14, 2016
Project

Choice Modelling and Behavioural Research Capabilities at RAND Europe

RAND Europe experts develop and use discrete choice models and conduct consumer behaviour research using revealed preference and stated preference data, depending on the policy question.

Oct 14, 2016
Commentary

Tesla Fatal Crash Reminds That Human Interface Remains Important

The first reported fatality in a self-driving vehicle is a chilling reminder that the evolving relationship with increasingly robotic motor vehicles needs to be a partnership, an undertaking with humans and machines managing the risks.

Jul 30, 2016
Commentary

Fatal Crash Shouldn't Kill Self-Driving Cars

The first known fatality in an autonomous vehicle occurred on May 7 and raises important questions. It does not, however, mean that self-driving cars are less safe than human drivers or that development of the technology should be stopped.

Jul 16, 2016
Commentary

Why It's Nearly Impossible to Prove Self-Driving Cars' Safety Without a New Approach

There are arguments to be made for permitting driverless cars in some capacity even if they are not quite as safe as human drivers, because doing so may enable developers to improve them faster, and thus save more lives overall.

May 12, 2016
Report

Test-Driving Alone Cannot Demonstrate the Safety of Autonomous Vehicles

In order to advance autonomous vehicles into daily use, alternative testing methods must be developed to supplement on-the-road testing. Alternative methods might include accelerated testing, virtual testing and simulators, mathematical modeling, scenario testing, and pilot studies.

Apr 12, 2016
News Release

Autonomous Vehicles Cannot Be Test-Driven Enough Miles to Demonstrate Their Safety; Alternative Testing Methods Needed

Under even the most-aggressive test driving assumptions, it would take existing fleets of autonomous vehicles tens and even hundreds of years to log sufficient miles to adequately assess the safety of the vehicles when compared to human-driven vehicles.

Apr 12, 2016
Journal Article

Trade-off Across Privacy, Security and Surveillance in the Case of Metro Travel in Europe

Focusing on train/metro travel we investigate whether Europeans perceive similar security and privacy issues as have been raised in recent discussions about surveillance.

Apr 6, 2016
Journal Article

Understanding the Potential of Variable Tolling to Smooth Congestion on Downstream Facilities: Applications of a Joint Time-of-Day and Route Choice Model

The aim of this research was to understand the conditions under which time-varying tolls could be used to effectively smooth congestion on a downstream, untolled roadway.

Apr 6, 2016
Commentary

A New Tool to Assess the Costs and Effectiveness of Traffic Crash Interventions

Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death in the U.S. An online tool can help policymakers understand the available evidence-based interventions that can help prevent crash injuries and deaths, what they will cost, and how effective they will be in their state.

Apr 4, 2016
Report

Autonomous Vehicle Technology: A Guide for Policymakers

Autonomous vehicle technology has the potential to significantly improve social welfare. This report addresses the numerous legislative, regulatory, and liability issues this technology will raise.

Mar 22, 2016
Commentary

With Driverless Cars, How Safe Is Safe Enough?

Before driverless cars can be deployed, a fundamental question remains: How safe is safe enough? Waiting for autonomous vehicles to operate perfectly misses opportunities to save lives by keeping far-from-perfect human drivers behind the wheel.

Feb 1, 2016
Periodical

RAND Review: January-February 2016

This issue highlights RAND research findings on the effectiveness of correctional education in U.S. prisons; an exploration of how emerging technologies present an ongoing challenge to the criminal-justice community; and more.

Jan 11, 2016
Tool

Costs and Effectiveness of Interventions to Reduce Motor Vehicle–Related Injuries and Deaths: Project Report and Online-Tool Documentation

This report documents production of an online tool to help assess costs and effectiveness of implementing up to 14 interventions and select those most effective in reducing death and injury from motor vehicle crashes for a given budget.

Dec 14, 2015
Research Brief

How to Get the Biggest Impact from an Increase in Spending on Traffic Safety

According to analysis with a free new tool, allocating increased federal traffic safety funding by cost-effectiveness ratios rather than equally among states would save more than double the number of lives and prevent almost five times the injuries.

Dec 14, 2015
Research Brief

A New Tool to Help Decisionmakers Select Interventions to Reduce Traffic Crash Deaths and Injuries

This brief describes an interactive tool that can help statedecisionmakers choose policies that are effective in reducing motor vehicle accidents in their states and appropriate to state budgets, saving lives and reducing economic and societal loss.

Dec 14, 2015

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