People drive more if driving is (partially) automated

If he wants to know how humans will move 10 years from now, he finds it helpful to study the features of partially automated cars currently available, such as Tesla’s autopilot. Autopilot is an advanced driver assistance feature, along with General Motors SuperPilot, Nissan ProPilot Assist, BMW Driving Assistant, and Ford CoPilot 360. “The driver’s perception takes away most of the driving task, so the driver feels more relaxed, less tired and less stressed,” says Hardman. Extrapolating the results to a wider population, partially automated vehicles may already be affecting people’s mobility, livelihoods, resource consumption and climate impacts. Hardman and Chakraborti found that most of the extra thousands of miles that autopilot drivers traveled each year occurred on long weekend trips.