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High-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes are one or more lanes of a roadway that have restrictions on use to encourage ridesharing and can reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Rules for HOV lanes vary and are usually posted. Typically, HOV lanes are open to motor vehicles carrying two or more people, and sometimes access is open to motorcycles or vehicles that use alternative fuels (hybrid or electric vehicles). Access restrictions on HOV lanes can apply 24-hours a day or only during peak congestion periods. The goal of HOV lanes is to provide an incentive to use ridesharing and public transportation, remove congestion from normal lanes of travel, and improve overall traffic operations. In places with excess capacity on HOV lanes, high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes have been implemented. These differ from HOV lanes in that motor vehicles carrying only one person can use these lanes for a fee. Users may be able to use HOT lanes at all times that HOV lanes are in operation or HOT lane use may be restricted during the most congested periods. Houston's METRO HOV Lanes The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) operates a total of 120 miles of HOV lanes serving Houston and the surrounding eight-county region. The Houston region’s HOV network was built primarily for buses. It also promotes ridesharing through vanpools and carpools, including METRO’s RideSponsor (employer-based commuter program), RideShare (ride-matching for vanpools/carpools), and METRO STAR vanpool programs. The METRO HOV system is predominantly HOV-2 (minimum 2 occupants), with some corridors designated HOV-3 (minimum 3 occupants) during peak hours. The system includes both barrier-protected lanes and lanes designated by pavement markings. A 2006 report found that METRO's HOV lanes (consisting of 113 miles at the time) handled almost 118,000 person trips each weekday, by serving about 36,400 multi-occupant vehicle trips. The report found that the HOV lanes had lower average travel times than adjacent corridors and saved the average commuter 12–22 minutes per trip. The HOV system in Houston is promoted by METRO and the Texas DOT as conserving fuel and improving air quality in the region. It does that by reducing the levels of congestion, number of vehicles, and idling time of vehicles along these key commuter corridors. METRO converted the HOV lanes to HOT lanes, allowing single-occupant vehicles to use the lanes for a toll only during non-peak and non-congested hours. Managed Lanes and High-Occupancy Vehicle Facilities is a web page of the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Freeway Management Program that includes legislation and guidance, studies, an inventory of facilities, and other resources. Travel Demand Management Publications and Reference Materials is FHWA’s library of resources addressing demand-side strategies to relieve congestion. Boriboonsomsin K, Barth M. A microscopic approach to modeling air quality impacts of HOV lane conversion. Transportation Land Use, Planning, and Air Quality 2008;338-344. Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CERT). Modeling the Effectiveness of High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes at Improving Air Quality. Riverside, CA: University of California Riverside, CERT; 2006. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Operations. A Review of HOV Lane Performance and Policy Options in the United States. Prepared for the HOV-Pooled Fund Study and the FHWA by Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. and HNTB; 2008. Fenno, DW, Benz, RJ, Vickich, MJ, Theiss, L. Quantification of Incident and Non-incident Travel Time Savings for Barrier-Separated High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes in Houston, Texas. Austin, TX: Texas Transportation Institute. FHWA/TX-05/0-4740-1; 2005. Shewmake S. Can carpooling clear the road and clean the air?: Evidence from the literature on the impact of HOV lanes on VMT and air pollution. Journal of Planning Literature 2012;27(4):363–74. State of Utah, Office of Legislative Auditor General. A Limited Review of HOV Lanes. Report Number ILR2010-C. 2010. U.S. EPA. Transportation Control Measure Information Documents: High-occupancy vehicle lanes. EPA400-R-92-006; 1992. Self-driving cars already exist and humans share our roads and freeways with them. They are one of the most technologically advanced innovations created by humans to date. Like any new technology, there will be new ethical issues surrounding it. Is it ethical to produce self-driving cars whose choices will affect the livelihood of the driver and surroundings? I’ll discuss evidence on why it is ethical to produce self-driving cars, as well as the evidence against the production of self-driving cars. After taking a consequentialist approach to analyze both sides, I will conclude with the most ethical answer to the question above. Their expectation is to be able to utilize autonomous cars to get them from point A to point B. They value the innovation, efficiency, reliability, safety, and accessibility of self-driving cars. Their expectation is to be able to provide the service demanded by self-driving car enthusiasts. They value the openness of society towards the creation of autonomous cars, the freedom to innovate, and the ongoing support from self-driving car enthusiasts. Their expectation is to not be harmed by autonomous cars when they are traveling. They believe it is the social and corporate responsibility of companies and the government to ensure the safety and well-being of all bystanders. They value that self-driving car companies and owners will be responsible for any harm caused by their cars. Their expectation is to improve society by creating rules and regulations for new innovations, minimizing risk, and protecting citizens. They value safety, efficiency, and productivity. The utilitarianism of autonomous cars has been both vigorously defended and attacked. When humans get into the driver’s seat of a car, positive law states that they take full responsibility for their actions. When it comes to self-driving cars, there is a clear gray area: is the driver responsible for any harm to innocent bystanders who get hurt from self-driving cars? Or is the self-driving car responsible for harm to innocent bystanders? Human drivers and self-driving cars who get into accidents must make split-second moral choices on whether to protect themselves or others. Because of the grey area, there have been many debates on whether self-driving cars are ethical. Opponents of the self-driving cars have valid reasons. Some people believe that car accident should happen naturally versus predetermined results decided by algorithms months to years in advance. Some people also believe that it is unethical for other people to decide one’s destiny. By handing the driving experience to autonomous cars, drivers lose control of their destiny. The amount of data collected and stored raises additional concern for some people. People are afraid that hackers will not only steal their private data but can also cause major harm to society. They believe it is the social and corporate responsibility for companies, governments, and policymakers to protect innocent bystanders from harm. To me, the positives outweigh the negatives for autonomous cars. First, self-driving cars are created by some of the most innovative and educated people of today’s society. The intent of the inventors is to create a better society for drivers and the planet. In addition, self-driving cars have proven to be significantly safer than having an actual driver; this has been shown by numerous studies and data collected from them. In the long run, autonomous cars will increase efficiency and productivity for people around the world. For more people to feel at ease with self-driving cars, companies, and self-driving car owners should understand they are responsible for the safety of all stakeholders. Risk management techniques can be used to quantify probabilistic risk in a way that is transparent and flexible. To create ethical vehicles, developers should continue to learn from past experiences in risk management and morally challenging situations. Allowing self-driving cars will satisfy the expectations and values of self-driving car enthusiasts, drivers, and companies who produce these cars. As science and technology advances, it is inevitable that more inventions will be developed. In the case of the self-driving car, this creates both opportunity and harm. Humans will need to create tools, such as rules and regulations, to protect themselves. As more laws and regulations develop regarding autonomous cars, these will work to balance both the ethics and economics of self-driving cars. Beall, A. (October 18, 2017). The car you can program to sacrifice you in crash. New Scientist. Retrieved from Nexis Uni. Bohn, D. (2016, October 20). Elon Musk: Negative media coverage of autonomous vehicles could be ‘killing people’. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/2016/10/19/13341306/elon-musk-negative-media-autonomous-vehicles-killing-people Brown, D. (2018, July 04). How self-driving car or adaptive cruise control could ease traffic jams. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/07/03/self-driving-reduces-traffic-jams-study-says/741985002/ Commute Times in Your Area | WNYC. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://project.wnyc.org/commute-times-us/embed.html Eadicicco, L. (2014, October 23). Here’s Why You Probably Won’t Get Hired At Google. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/google-hiring-process-committee-2014-10 Isidore, C. (2018, March 21). Self-driving cars are already really safe. Retrieved from https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/21/technology/self-driving-car-safety/ Keogh, S. (2016, Sep 20). The dangers of ‘self-driving’ car hype. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.redlands.edu/docview/1820989399?accountid=14729 McMahon, J. (2017, April 19). Big Fuel Savings From Autonomous Vehicles. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2017/04/17/big-fuel-savings-from-autonomous-vehicles/#7e85c3f34390 Nelson, G. (July 13, 2015). Self-driving cars make ethical choices. Automotive News Print Version. Retrieved from Nexis Uni. Nowak, P. (2018, February 02). The ethical dilemmas of self-driving cars. Retrieved from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/culture/technology/the-ethical-dilemmas-of-self-drivingcars/article37803470/ Privacy concerns and self-driving cars: Are we ready for autonomous vehicles? (2018, February 15). Retrieved from https://blogs.thomsonreuters.com/answerson/privacy-concerns-self-driving-cars-ready-autonomous-vehicles/ Pyper, J. (2014, September 15). Self-Driving Cars Could Cut Greenhouse Gas Pollution. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/self-driving-cars-could-cut-greenhouse-gas-pollution/ Ramsey, M. (2015, March 05). Self-Driving Cars Could Cut Down on Accidents, Study Says. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/self-driving-cars-could-cut-down-on-accidents-study-says-1425567905 Siddiqui, F. (2018, September 17). Americans’ commutes keep getting longer, according to survey data. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2018/09/17/american-commutes-keep-getting-longer-according-survey-data-show/?utm_term=.eebde421d861 Trappl, R. (n.d.). Ethical Systems for Self-Driving Cars: An Introduction. Applied Artificial Intelligence, 30(8), 745–747. https://doi.org/10.1080/08839514.2016.1229737 |