Tag: car study

The Surprising Downside of Driverless Cars

Remember last week when we shared a story about driverless cars and how they’ll be more popular in 10-20 years? Well a new study says we might want to pump the brakes on driverless cars, as they’ll consume more energy than current transportation methods.

Many auto experts believe that autonomous cars could help decrease fuel consumption, but according to a study out of the University of Michigan, that might not be the case. In essence, researchers believe that driverless cars could save people time, but waste more energy due to extra trips.

Driverless cars

Researchers explained that with traditional transportation, parents commute to work, run errands and shuttle the kids around in the fewest trips possible. If we added driverless cars to the equation, the team of scientists believe the self-driving car would drop one parent off at work, return home, drop off the other parent, return home, then drop the kids off at school, and it would follow a similar pattern in the afternoon. Even if families share or rent a driverless car, individual trips would lead to more total driving.

“It could be that sharing the vehicle ends up increasing the mileage because of all these connecting trips,” said Brandon Schoettle of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. “The net effect is probably going to be an increase in mileage, and in general the more miles you drive the more fuel you burn.”

Related Findings

Additional findings from the UM Transportation Research Institute include:

  • Increased driverless car sharing could mean Americans would own 43 percent fewer cars (1.2 per household, down from 2.1 per household).
  • Annual miles per vehicle could increase by roughly 75 percent (20,406 annual miles, down from 11,661 annual miles).
  • That said, even though we might be putting more miles on our cars, these miles would be more fuel efficient, assuming autonomous concepts could eliminate wasteful driving practices, like flooring the gas or slamming on the brakes.

“The upside is that vehicles could drive much more efficiently,” said Ethan Elkind, an associate director at the Climate Change and Business Program at the University of California at Berkeley. “The downside of course is you may see more people driving. More driving overall is not a great thing for the environment.”

AM/FM Radio Preferred Listening Option For Most Drivers

Although in-car connectivity appears to be on the rise, a new study revealed that most drivers prefer to listen to the old fashioned AM/FM radio while on the road.

The study was conducted by the market research firm Ipsos in an effort to determine what audio options drivers prefer. Over 1,000 drivers over the age of 18 were asked to select all the audio options they listen to in the car. After looking at the responses, researchers uncovered:

  • 99 percent of people are comfortable with their current car’s audio set up.
  • More than 90 percent of respondents said they prefer physical buttons and controls built into the dashboard compared to an app on the car’s interface.
  • 84 percent of drivers said they listen to the radio in the car.
  • 64 percent of drivers said they listen to CD players.
  • 22 percent preferred Sirius/XM radio, 18 percent listened to Pandora radio, eight percent listened to iHeartRadio, seven percent listened to iHeartRadio and seven percent listened to Spotify.

Car Repair

Thomas Spinelli, vice president of Ipsos MediaCT, said it’s clear that “in spite of consumers’ love of apps and new digital products, they have a great attachment to their AM/FM radio and an overwhelming desire to keep its operation and function as it is. The in-car AM/FM radio is still a universally known audio platform ­ and its ease of use, convenience, features and familiarity continue to make it a top consumer choice for in-car audio.”

This study might not be music to Hyundai’s ears, as they recently announced that they plan to phase out CD players in favor of infotainment systems that rely on smartphones and bluetooth connectivity.

Related source: Radio World

Teens Less Likely to Drive Safe Cars

Old Car TeensA new report by researchers at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that teens are more likely to drive older, smaller cars than adults, which puts them at greater risk for accident and injury.

According to the survey, teenagers are at a greater risk of injury during an accident than an adult counterpart who may be better protected in a newer vehicle. The IIHS said many older vehicles don’t have certain safety features like side airbags and electronic stability control. In all, the study found:

• 82 percent of teenage motorists involved in a fatal automobile accident were driving a car that was at least six years old. Only 77 percent of adults in similar accidents were driving vehicles that were at least six years old.

• 34 percent of teenage driving fatalities occurred in vehicles between six and 10 years old, 31 percent occurred in vehicles between 11 and 15 years old, and 17 percent took place in vehicles that had been on the road for at least 16 years.

• 57 percent of teens who died while driving a car that was less than three years old were driving a car classified as a “small car” or “minicar.”

Researchers say there are two main reasons for their findings. First, they suggest that teenagers who get a car soon after receiving their license are often given a family heirloom car that has been in the family for years and is often older than six years old. They also believe that teens who purchase a car are often working with a limited budget, meaning they’ll only be able to afford an older car with a lot of miles, or a newer small car that doesn’t offer the same crash protection as SUVs or larger cars.

Four Recommendations

In conjunction with their findings, the IIHS listed four recommendations for parents who want to help the new driver in their family find a safe and reliable vehicle.

Avoid Horsepower – Cars with extra horsepower can tempt teens into testing their speedometer.

Big and Heavy – Larger and heavier vehicles offer better protection during a crash.

Stability – Look for a vehicle equipped with electronic stability control, which helps a driver maintain control of the vehicle.

Safety Rating – Do some research on the vehicle’s safety rating before buying to ensure it meets your standards and expectations.

Related source: NY Times