Reader Response Draft v2

In the article, “Singapore revs up engines for autonomous vehicle race”, Noble (2019) mentions the growing trend of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) in Singapore. To incorporate AVs into Singapore’s transport system, four organizations have adjudicated a temporary national standard termed Technical Reference 68 (TR68). According to Fitch Ratings, the implementation of TR68 would promote the growth and acceptance of AVs in Singapore. It would also entice autonomous technology firms into Singapore. With the combined factors of the ageing population and the pressure to monitor the drivers’ mental capabilities, the government seeks into AV as a mitigation solution. Elaine Chao (2019) stresses that “AV could pave the way for road safety, citing that 94% of vehicular accidents have taken place due to human error”. AVs would not only benefit the safety of the aged but also opens up mobility opportunities for people with disabilities. In summary, Noble (2019) asserts that the emergence of AVs could positively impact Singapore soon. Despite AVs being implemented in countries like the United States, Singapore has yet to reach its implementation phase due to multiple constraints.

First and foremost, motor vehicle safety is one of the critical constraints to AV implementation. Despite the application of TR68, the public is still concerned about how safe AVs are on Singapore roads. As the roads in Singapore are often congested, the sensors might not be able to collect data inputs effectively. Furthermore, different motorists have their unique driving habits and practices. According to Channel News Asia (2019), “the number of red-light running violations spiked by 15.7 percent to 53,910 cases”. Reckless motorists, who would potentially break traffic laws like driving against traffic, could disrupt the algorithm thinking of the AV. Moreover, tangibles like pedestrians, who jaywalk or dash across the road, have made AV testing hard. Grabar (2018) reported that the first pedestrian death caused by a self-driving car in Arizona. With safety uncertainties, AVs have yet to gain the confidence and acceptance of the general public for its implementation.

Secondly, AVs require a substantial financial investment into its development, software, and hardware. Self-driving car start-up, nuTonomy, is aiding Singapore in its development for AV capabilities and has also received strong governmental support alongside EDBI Pte Ltd. According to Toh (2019), Volvo Buses and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) are also increasing its investment in developing autonomous vehicles in Singapore despite having placed a significant initial sum into the joint project. Furthermore, Singapore has also established a Centre of Excellence for Testing & Research of AVs – NTU (CETRAN) in 2017. CETRAN consists of a test town for the AVs completed with traffic lights, bus stops, skyscrapers, and a rain-making machine. In a land-sacred country like Singapore, the land allocation for CETRAN serves as a sizeable asset investment into the development of AVs. These financial investments could have been used to reskill drivers’ proficiency or construct Singapore’s railway system to reduce congestion and possibly road accidents.

Lastly, AVs have also drawn concerns on the potential cyber threats and attacks. AVs contain multiple interfaces that serve as connections between the vehicle and its external network. According to GAO (2016), these Key Vehicle Interfaces can be exploited to tamper its safety-critical systems like braking and steering. Furthermore, the wireless transmission of data could be hijacked and exploited by hackers and potential terrorist groups for data collection purposes or if worst, used to execute a real-world cyber-attack. Oriti (2017) has also empathized that these critical infrastructure networks maintained by the government could be vulnerable to major cyberattacks to create distrust politically. Singapore was also not excluded after the recent SingHealth Cyber Attack in 2019. Thus, the potential cyber threat of AVs could cause more harm than good.

In conclusion, despite the availability of AV technology in the market, there are multiple constraints for the implementation in Singapore’s transport system. Safety aspects, financial investments and cyber threats poses as obstacles to implementation of AV in Singapore's unique transport system. The government would have to come out with solutions to mitigate these constraints while safeguarding the motorists and pedestrians on the road.

References

Grabar, H. (2018, March 19). Uber Crash in Arizona Kills Woman in First Pedestrian

Death Caused by a Self-Driving Car. SLATE. Retrieved

from https://amp.slate.com/technology/2018/03/uber-crash-kills-woman-in first-pedestrian-death-caused-by-a-self-driving-car.html

More drink-driving accidents, motorists running red lights: Police Read more

at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/more-ran-red-lights drink-driving-accidents-in-2018-police-11275082. (2019, February 21). Channel News Asia.

Noble, L. W. (2019, July 8). Singapore revs up engines for autonomous vehicle race.

Retrieved from https://sbr.com.sg/transport-logistics/exclusive/singapore-revs-engines-autonomous-vehicle-race

Office, U. S. G. A. (2016, April 25). Vehicle Cybersecurity: DOT and Industry Have Efforts

Under Way, but DOT Needs to Define Its Role in Responding to a Real-world

Attack. Retrieved September 30, 2019, from https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-350.

Oriti, T. (2017, October 23). Cyberterrorists targeting healthcare systems, critical

infrastructure. ABC News. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-23/forget-explosives,-terrorists-are-coming-after-cyber-systems/9076786

Toh, T. W. (2019, March 6). Singapore at the forefront with driverless vehicles. The

Straits Times. Retrieved from https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/spore-at-the-forefront-with-driverless-vehicles