Are Self-Driving Cars Environmentally Friendly? 8 Things to Know

Multiple pieces contribute to solving the climate puzzle. What role do self-driving cars play? Are they environmentally friendly? 

The answer is they can be, but mindfully implementing their use also matters. Here’s what you should know:

The Environmental Benefits of Self-Driving Cars 

The transportation sector is the largest single contributor to the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. Every day, millions of cars, trucks and vans traverse the country’s roadways and idle in traffic, spewing toxins out their tailpipes. 

Fully autonomous vehicles have yet to enter the market on a wide scale, although some projections anticipate their arrival as early as 2025. Making such systems operational requires considerable infrastructure investments, but could revolutionize travel, especially in urban areas. Such vehicles can also help clear the air. Here are four ways self-driving cars are environmentally friendly: 

1. Reduce Fuel Consumption and Emissions

Nearly all self-driving cars are electric, meaning they produce zero tailpipe emissions. Although building and charging such vehicles still require fossil fuels and nonrenewable resources, the nation’s shift to energy sources, like wind and solar, will help green this end of the transportation equation. 

Fewer tailpipe emissions improve air quality in urban areas, decreasing smog and the urban heat island effect. Additionally, electric cars are so quiet manufacturers must add noise components for safety’s sake. A city filled with such vehicles — especially autonomously driven models that decrease honking — would make far less noise pollution. 

2. Increase Average Speeds

You might think faster speeds decrease fuel efficiency. However, while this rule holds true for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, it doesn’t for self-driving electric cars. 

Instead, such devices keep traffic moving more predictably. Autonomous vehicles can help maintain steady speeds on roadways, reducing the stop-and-go conditions know to lead to accidents. 

3. Decrease Road Rage 

Road rage is a severe problem. Ninety-two percent of people have witnessed it in the past year, and 89% have personally experienced it. Such incidents can result in severe psychological trauma, sometimes triggering chronic pain, even if no physical injuries resulted from the altercation. Self-driving cars reduce road rage incidents. While people certainly can grow angry at technological gadgets, other humans don’t absorb their ire. 

4. Lower Traffic Congestion and Idling 

When integrated with smart city technology, self-driving cars can ease traffic congestion, keeping things moving at a more even pace. Such plans reduce traffic, which lowers emissions and leaves more space for pedestrians to use such thoroughfares safely. Roadway redesigns may include green belts for walkers and bikers. In addition, each new tree planted along such corridors contributes to lowering atmospheric carbon levels. 

In short, self-driving cars present a greener transportation option and facilitate the removal of internal combustion engine vehicles without bans. The ICE models that remain will produce fewer emissions thanks to improved traffic flow and decreased congestion. Implementing self-driving cars properly will make the commute cleaner and safer overall. 

Downsides of Self-Driving Cars 

Despite the environmental friendliness of self-driving cars, many critics raise valid concerns those who implement such programs must address to ensure a successful launch and smooth operations. 

1. Reliability 

Anyone who has ever worked with technology knows errors can occur. Systems can crash and critical components stop working at crucial moments. Should such incidents happen in self-driving cars, the result could be a disastrous accident. For example, General Motors shut down its robotaxi service after one of its vehicles struck and injured a pedestrian. A similar incident happened with a driverless Uber in Tempe, AZ. 

2. Cost

Self-driving cars are basically robots using a complicated series of sensors to detect following distance, change lanes and maintain speeds. While several companies now offer self-driving vehicles, most produce fleets to deliver goods. Waymo’s robotaxi service is, to date, a notable exception, operating in San Francisco and Phoenix and expanding soon to other cities. However, many private consumers can’t afford to purchase such cars for individual use. 

3. Judgment

If a collision is inevitable, should a car barrel into a passing herd of deer or a child? To a self-driving car’s sensor system, the first obstacle may appear the bigger hazard to avoid — but few human drivers would make the same choice. Self-driving cars rely on programming and don’t have the same judgment skills humans do. Furthermore, researchers have found some self-driving vehicle sensors struggle to identify children and people of color, leading to higher risks for these groups.

4. Job Loss

Self-driving cars could work in tandem with human drivers. Many proponents argue assigning human safety drivers creates a “best of both worlds” scenario. Robotics prevent driver fatigue and reduce human emotion and frailty, but keep a trained operator on board for handling crucial moments. However, others say fully autonomous vehicles that remove human drivers will eliminate jobs, such as taxi drivers and truck drivers. 

The Environmental Friendliness of Self-Driving Cars 

Most consider self-driving cars to be environmentally friendly. They reduce emissions in several ways, including from the ICE vehicles operating alongside them. Implementing such technologies mindfully into smart city design can ease traffic congestion, lower pollution levels and improve safety for everyone on the roads.