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Right after graduating from college with a journalism degree, I took a job as a police and fire reporter for a newspaper. It was a daily diet of death, mayhem, fires and car crashes.
Every day started out at an Ohio State Highway Patrol post in Central Ohio (I still think OSP is one of the best police agencies out there!). I dutifully went through each and every crash report from the day before. They were detailed: If a motorist struck a deer, the patrol officer would draw a little picture of the deceased deer in the diagram.
It wasn’t until recently that I thought back to those reports because of a February incident where a Google autonomous car collided with a bus. In the crash report from the California DMV, there’s a section called “Accident Details – Description.” And there are two boxes. One says “Conventional Mode.” The other says, “Autonomous Mode.” The fact this phrase is on an accident report form blows my mind.
Just a few years ago, this description didn’t appear on crash forms. And even a year ago, we were being told that self-driving cars were at least a decade or longer away from real-world use. That prediction is quickly becoming inaccurate. It’s all coming much, much faster.
On Oct. 14, 2015, Tesla did an over-the-air software update to the Model S, much like you’d do on your tablet or smartphone. When Tesla owners awoke the next morning.. voila! Their vehicles offered Autopilot. And just four days later, three friends climbed into a Tesla Model S and made the 2,994-mile journey from the Los Angeles area to New York City in just under 58 hours — with the car doing a staggering 96 percent of the driving!
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has defined autonomous vehicles as having five levels. They are:
Level 0 – No-Automation: The driver is in complete and sole control.
Level 1 – Function-specific Automation: Automation at this level involves one or more specific control functions. For example, electronic stability control or pre-charged brakes.
Level 2– Combined Function Automation: Automation of at least two primary control functions such as adaptive cruise control in combination with lane centering.
Level 3 – Limited Self-Driving Automation: The driver can cede full control of all safety-critical functions under certain traffic or environmental conditions. The driver is expected to be available for occasional control.
Level 4 – Full Self-Driving Automation: The vehicle is designed to perform all safety-critical driving functions and monitor roadway conditions for an entire trip.
These levels were described by NHTSA in early 2013. Less than two years later, we have the Tesla Model S at Level 3, and well on its way to Level 4, in my estimation.
I predict adoption of autonomous vehicles, if affordable, to be quick.
Where does the aftermarket fit into the equation here? You already sell batteries. Might you sell replacement electric vehicle batteries? Electric motors? Writing? Cables and harnesses?
You look up any number of parts right now. You’ll continue to do so in the future but the names of the parts will change.
