Another Reason Robots Might Be Better Drivers

Did you know that when you are driving and there is an emergency vehicle with its lights flashing parked on the road ahead you are to (1) move over a lane to your left or, should that not be possible for whatever reason, (2) slow down to a speed that will make it safer for the emergency personnel who might be in the roadway?

“Of course!” you think. “Everyone knows that.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), while doing so is a law in all 50 states, and has been since 2012, “Research shows that most Americans don’t know that this law exists.”

Now you might be thinking, “Well, I don’t know that it is a law, but it certainly is the sensible thing to do.”

Yes. But then there’s this: in 2015 52 law enforcement officers were killed in traffic related incidents. That was a 4 percent increase in the number in 2014.

This is such a critical issue that NHTSA has launched the “Move Over” campaign to alert people to their civic duty.

Seriously, with vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure technologies at work, isn’t is more likely that there will be far fewer vehicles putting first responders in harm’s way?