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WRAL Investigates driverless vehicles: Ready or not, here they come

The future of our driving is just around the corner. There's fast and furious research to create vehicles that will drive us, instead of the other way around. But for now, you can expect to see a gradual increase in driverless vehicles in the Triangle and beyond.

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By
Cullen Browder
, WRAL anchor/reporter

The future of driving is just around the corner. There’s fast and furious research to create vehicles that will drive us, instead of the other way around. But for now, you can expect to see a gradual increase in driverless vehicles in the Triangle and beyond.

WRAL Investigates took an autonomous vehicle journey that began with an electric trail blazer: A Tesla test drive from Raleigh’s Rolls Royce Motor Cars.

On the road, it was a one-button push.

"Look mom, no hands," exclaimed salesperson Jacob Holbrook.

Holbrook guided WRAL Investigates through the technology that detects lanes, other cars and obstacles. But there is a factor more important than all the sophisticated tech -- the trust needed to turn control over to the nearly 2.5-ton car’s computer.

As we drove the vehicle on a crowded highway, the vehicle moved with traffic. It slowed down when we got behind a slower moving truck pulling a trailer.

Professor Ali Karimoddini leads a team of autonomous vehicle researchers at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, an institution known for breaking barriers.

"We are developing technology that can handle every situation, but actually we’re not there," Karimoddini said.

Among their projects, an electric car guided by GPS, liDAR (which stands for light detection and ranging, a method of measuring ditsnace using reflected beams of light), cameras and computer. There’s also a vehicle that goes nowhere. The comprehensive simulator with a roadway video screen detects a driver’s habits, distractions and reactions. A computer kept track of our head movement, eye movement and how we handled the steering wheel. It’s all recorded to create smarter on-board computers as we inch toward driverless vehicles.

"I hope that at some point we have a car that is adapted to us," Karimoddini said.

That research goes beyond cars to include a fleet of autonomous shuttles, according to Karimoddini.

"There’s a space for us especially focusing on public transportation," Karimoddini said.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation launched an autonomous shuttle at Kill Devil Hills for tourists at the Wright Brothers Memorial. An operator is on board in case of an emergency. That same technology is headed to Cary’s Bond Park this summer to shuttle people between the park’s biggest attractions.

Last year, a new state law opened the road for more driverless vehicles. Among the rules: They must stay on roads with a speed limit 45 mph or less, and they have to pull over if sensors show they’re slowing down traffic behind them.

WRAL Investigates was asked about driverless vehicles when a motorist spotted one off of Globe Road in Raleigh. The driver didn’t get a picture and we’re still trying to track down where the vehicle came from.

Those sightings will become more frequent. Back in 2017, the state started soliciting vehicle makers to have them test their high-tech cars on the southern portion of Interstate 540. While there have been a couple of short test drives, no one is signed up right now to do large-scale testing.

We also looked into a state law passed five years ago that laid the groundwork for autonomous vehicles. It states vehicles must be registered, have liability insurance and provides instructions on what to do in case of crash. However, it also states the operator of a fully autonomous vehicle doesn’t need have a driver's license.

NC A&T researcher Daniel Tobias believes advances can make driving safer, but preaches patience.

“Don’t trust it completely, but keep an eye open in case it might fail," Tobias said.

Statistics from the National Law Review show that driverless vehicles are involved in nine crashes per million miles driven versus four crashes for human drivers.

WRAL Investigates asked Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone if he trusts a person’s reflexes over computers.

"I trust an attentive driver," he said.

Stone’s opinion is informed by a 2020 crash when a Tesla clipped a patrol car on the side of Highway 64 pushing it into a deputy and trooper. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries. The Tesla driver was watching a movie on his phone at the time of the crash.

"[There are] glitches in computers every day, and we need responsible, attentive people driving a vehicle," Stone said.

WRAL Investigates' test drive of the Tesla proved that point. The car reacted to lane lines, but on a side road got confused when there were not stripes down the middle.

"Just make sure you’re aware of what’s going on," Holbrook said.

Research shows opinions are split on whether drivers are ready to turn over the wheel to a computer. That’s driving research for a more autonomous future that drivers will embrace.

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