Expert members of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), have selected autonomous vehicles as the most promising form of intelligent transportation, anticipating that they will account for up to 75 percent of cars on the road by the year 2040. These cars will safely travel at speeds of up to 160 km/hour. Autonomous vehicles will use the existing networks of roadways and make car sharing programs more prevalent. Autonomous vehicles will arrive, take people to their destinations and then be ready for the next users. “Since cars today are parked for more than 90 percent of their lifetime, shared car services will promote more continuous movement, garner more efficient operation and use less gas,” explained Dr. Alberto Broggi, IEEE Senior Member and professor of Computer Engineering at the University of Parma in Italy. Driverless vehicle sharing programs will also enable people of all ages and abilities to utilize these vehicles, thereby eliminating the need for having a driver's license. While drivers and passengers as yet don't believe in driverless technology enough to completely hand over total control, car manufacturers have already started to incorporate automated features in vehicles, including parallel parking assistance, automatic braking systems and drowsy driver protection.
