The railroad industry is playing down expectations that a safety technology that could have prevented recent deadly train crashes will be in operation across the United States by the end of the year. Indeed, freight and commuter rail officials speak as if there never was any plan to complete their work on the technology known […]
Automated Safety Systems are Preventing Car Crashes
Safety systems to prevent cars from drifting into another lane or that warn drivers of vehicles in their blind spots are beginning to live up to their potential to significantly reduce crashes, according to two studies released Wednesday. At the same time, research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety raises concern that drivers may […]
A Commuter’s Dream: Entrepreneurs Race to Develop Flying Car
Even before George Jetson entranced kids with his cartoon flying car, people dreamed of soaring above traffic congestion. Inventors and entrepreneurs have long tried and failed to make the dream a reality, but that may be changing. Nearly a dozen companies around the globe, including some with deep pockets such as European aircraft maker Airbus, […]
Gov’t To Require Cars Be Able To Talk To Each Other
All new cars and light trucks would be able to talk wirelessly with each other, with traffic lights and with other roadway infrastructure under a rule the Transportation Department proposed Tuesday. Officials say the technology holds the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths and transform driving. Vehicle-to-vehicle communications, or V2V, enables cars to transmit their […]
Auto, Technology Industries Clash Over Talking Cars
Cars that wirelessly talk to each other are finally ready for the road, creating the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths, improve the safety of self-driving cars and someday maybe even help solve traffic jams, automakers and government officials say. But there’s a big catch. The cable television and high-tech industries want to take away […]
Investigators Say Tesla Car Was Speeding at Time of Crash
The driver killed when his Tesla sedan crashed while in self-driving mode was traveling at 9 mph above the speed limit just before hitting the side of a tractor-trailer, federal accident investigators said Tuesday. Data downloaded from the Tesla Model S shows the vehicle was traveling at 74 mph in a 65-mph zone on a […]
Plans for Self-Driving Cars Have Pitfall: The Human Brain
Experts say the development of self-driving cars over the coming decade depends on an unreliable assumption by many automakers: that the humans in them will be ready to step in and take control if the car’s systems fail. Instead, experience with automation in other modes of transportation like aviation and rail suggests that the strategy […]
TSA Chief Says Progress Being Made on Shortening Lines
Significant progress has been made on shortening screening lines since earlier this spring, when airlines reported thousands of frustrated passengers were missing flights, the head of the Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday. Over the busy Memorial Day weekend, 99 percent of passengers at U.S. airports waited less than 30 minutes and 93 percent waited less […]
Will Robot Cars Drive Traffic Congestion Off a Cliff?
Self-driving cars are expected to usher in a new era of mobility, safety and convenience. The problem, say transportation researchers, is that people will use them too much. Experts foresee robot cars chauffeuring children to school, dance class and baseball practice. The disabled and elderly will have new mobility. Commuters will be able to work, sleep, […]
Experts Tell U.S. Agency to Slow Down on Self-Driving Cars
Engineers, safety advocates and even automakers have a safety message for federal regulators eager to get self-driving cars on the road: slow down. Fully self-driving cars may be the future of the automotive industry, but they aren’t yet up to the demands of real-world driving, several people told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration during […]