Are Driverless Cars Safer Than Human Drivers?

Under Ohio law, a driver can accrue 12 points’ worth of violations within two years before his license is automatically suspended. That is, he could be caught going 30 miles over the limit three times (four points each) or cause multiple accidents resulting in misdemeanor reckless-driving charges (two to four points each) before losing the right to drive. Should he commit vehicular manslaughter (six points), his license would be suspended, but he could get it back in as little as six months. Other states have similarly forgiving laws. Considering that 94 percent of crashes involve some form of driver error or impairment immediately before impact, [1] you have to wonder: Are we too tolerant of bad driving—or is the problem more basic? Are we, as humans, simply not suited to the task?

According to one analysis, 4 million of the nearly 11 million crashes that occur annually could potentially be avoided if distractions were eliminated. [2] But instead, we actively seek out distractions, like texting. A meta-analysis of 28 studies confirms that typing or reading on our phones while driving adversely affects stimulus detection, reaction time, lane positioning, vehicle control, and, yes, collision rate. [3] Some researchers have concluded that texting while driving may pose more of an accident risk than driving either under the influence of marijuana or at the legal alcohol limit. [4] And, contrary to stereotype, teenagers aren’t the primary offenders: A survey of more than 2,000 adults suggests that they are just as likely as teens to have texted behind the wheel, and substantially more likely to have talked on their cellphone. [5]

Which isn’t to say we’re all equally bad in the driver’s seat. Perhaps unsurprisingly, people who report becoming angry while driving are more likely than others to behave recklessly on the road. [6] So are people who drive fancy cars. In one pair of studies, researchers observed that drivers of expensive cars (think shiny new BMWs) were less likely than those with older, less expensive, or beat-up vehicles to yield to other drivers and pedestrians. [7] And according to a four-year study, adults who played risk-glorifying video games like Grand Theft Auto as adolescents were more likely to have risky driving habits—and to get into accidents—later on. [8]

Compounding the problem, few of us accept that we are bad drivers. Many people overestimate their driving capabilities thanks to a cognitive bias known as the illusion of control, which is predictive of dangerous driving behavior. [9] We may be especially prone to overconfidence when we think no one is watching. One study found that we’re more likely to engage in aggressive behavior such as cutting across a lane when we don’t have a passenger. [10]

Driverless cars are looking better and better: They won’t text with each other, or get angry. They won’t play Grand Theft Auto in their off-hours. And they won’t cut you off just for the hell of it. Even if they’re BMWs.

The Studies:

[1] Singh, “Critical Reasons for Crashes Investigated in the National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey” (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Feb. 2015)

[2] Dingus et al., “Driver Crash Risk Factors and Prevalence Evaluation Using Naturalistic Driving Data” (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, March 2016)

[3] Caird et al., “A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Texting on Driving” (Accident Analysis and Prevention, Oct. 2014)

[4] Reed and Robbins, “The Effect of Text Messaging on Driver Behaviour” (Transport Research Laboratory, Sept. 2008)

[5] Madden and Rainie, “Adults and Cell Phone Distractions” (Pew Research Center, June 2010)

[6] Dahlen and White, “The Big Five Factors, Sensation Seeking, and Driving Anger in the Prediction of Unsafe Driving” (Personality and Individual Differences, Oct. 2006)

[7] Piff et al., “Higher Social Class Predicts Increased Unethical Behavior” (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, March 2012)

[8] Hull et al., “A Longitudinal Study of Risk-Glorifying Video Games and Reckless Driving” (Psychology of Popular Media Culture, Oct. 2012)

[9] Stephens and Ohtsuka, “Cognitive Biases in Aggressive Drivers” (Personality and Individual Differences, May 2014)

[10] Shinar and Compton, “Aggressive Driving” (Accident Analysis and Prevention, Oct. 2014)

Should you drink more coffee? Should you take melatonin? Can you train yourself to need less sleep? A physician’s guide to sleep in a stressful age.

During residency, I worked hospital shifts that could last 36 hours, without sleep, often without breaks of more than a few minutes. Even writing this now, it sounds to me like I’m bragging or laying claim to some fortitude of character. I can’t think of another type of self-injury that might be similarly lauded, except maybe binge drinking. Technically the shifts were 30 hours, the mandatory limit imposed by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, but we stayed longer because people kept getting sick. Being a doctor is supposed to be about putting other people’s needs before your own. Our job was to power through.

The shifts usually felt shorter than they were, because they were so hectic. There was always a new patient in the emergency room who needed to be admitted, or a staff member on the eighth floor (which was full of late-stage terminally ill people) who needed me to fill out a death certificate. Sleep deprivation manifested as bouts of anger and despair mixed in with some euphoria, along with other sensations I’ve not had before or since. I remember once sitting with the family of a patient in critical condition, discussing an advance directive—the terms defining what the patient would want done were his heart to stop, which seemed likely to happen at any minute. Would he want to have chest compressions, electrical shocks, a breathing tube? In the middle of this, I had to look straight down at the chart in my lap, because I was laughing. This was the least funny scenario possible. I was experiencing a physical reaction unrelated to anything I knew to be happening in my mind. There is a type of seizure, called a gelastic seizure, during which the seizing person appears to be laughing—but I don’t think that was it. I think it was plain old delirium. It was mortifying, though no one seemed to notice.