Autonomous cars
Basics
NACTO Pushes Back as Big Auto Seeks Safety Exemption for Driverless Cars
The national association of city transportation officials cries foul as Ford and GM try an end run around the NHTSA for cars without steering wheels and brakes.
September 23, 2022
How Tech Billionaires are Threatening America’s Transportation Future
Author Paris Marx reveals exactly what's wrong with the fantasies of some of the most prominent transportation tech "visionaries" of our time, and draws a blueprint for a better mobility system based on serving the needs of the many.
September 14, 2022
Six Arguments Against ‘Speed Limiting’ Technology — And How to Quash Them
Today on The Brake, we asked mobility researcher David Zipper to give us a breakdown of the most common speed-limiting technologies available today, and to share how he responds to six of the most common concerns about them — from the valid to the downright silly.
September 6, 2022
The Brake: What Would the ‘Post-Automobility’ Future Look Like?
Last time on the Brake, we chatted with authors Robert Braun and Richard Randell about why automobility isn't really about cars at all — and how it's become what they call a "totalitarian system" that touches virtually every part of our lives.
August 10, 2022
Opinion: Stop Trusting Elon Musk — on Tunnels, on Teslas, on Everything
Unfortunately, it needs to be said again: It’s time to set aside Musk’s BS and focus on solutions we know will work: reducing the negative externalities of driving by reducing vehicle miles traveled—not substituting one engine for another or replacing drivers with a computer.
July 22, 2022
Fed. AV Crash Report Underscores How Little We Know About Robocar Safety
Cars with advanced vehicle automation systems are involved in far more crashes than previously known — and automakers should be compelled to provide far more data to federal regulators to provide a clearer picture of the impact of this emerging technology on U.S. roads, safety advocates say.
June 16, 2022
Why Apple Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Turn a Car Dashboard into an iPhone
Apple's new CarPlay dashboard (!) is prompting a conversation about why regulators aren't taking action on "infotainment" systems that induce the very dangerous driving that manufacturers claim will do the opposite.
June 10, 2022
Ford’s Geofenced ‘Speed Limiters’ Might Not Cut Road Deaths As Much As You Think
The trouble with this "smart" tech, though, is that drivers can easily outsmart it — and that's by the company's and regulators' own design.
June 2, 2022
Will ‘Autonomous’ Buses Force Drivers Out of a Job — Or Make Them More Important Than Ever?
Automated vehicle technology could improve labor conditions for bus drivers while improving safety and service for transit passengers and city-dwellers alike — but only if regulators act now, a new analysis argues.
May 31, 2022
Six Ways AVs Could Reshape Our Cities — And Not for the Better
A recent Congressional hearing on "the road ahead for automated vehicles" largely ignored the potentially devastating effect that personally owned AVs could have on the neighborhoods those cars drive through.
February 10, 2022
