Dietmar Exler, chief executive of Mercedes-Benz USA, believes AVs are likely to be harassed by human drivers when the two are sharing road space.
Speaking at a motoring conference in Los Angeles, Mr Exler told delegates that human failings are the main factor slowing the development of self-driving cars—more than technology, insurance considerations, or even getting people to accept the very notion of self-driving cars. “The real issue is humans”, he said.
The trouble is AVs will be programmed to be law-obiding, polite road users, but human drivers have a long reputation all over the world of being much less considerate. When a human driver is trying to cut into a row of traffic, for example, they’ll know self-driving cars are programmed to stop if faced with an obstruction. Exlar says “they’ll look for the autonomous car and that’s where they’ll cut in”.
One solution might be to make autonomous vehicles a bit more assertive and aggressive – a little more human, in a word. However, Mr Exler doubts such a move would ever be approved by regulators.
