{"id":12369,"date":"2018-07-16T06:14:22","date_gmt":"2018-07-16T11:14:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/?p=12369"},"modified":"2018-07-03T09:35:01","modified_gmt":"2018-07-03T14:35:01","slug":"will-autonomous-vehicles-work-small-towns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/2018\/07\/will-autonomous-vehicles-work-small-towns.html","title":{"rendered":"How will autonomous vehicles work in small towns?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Autonomous shuttle testing in Las Vegas 2017. Photo by Becky McCray<\/p><\/div>\n

News flash: Rural areas already have autonomous vehicles<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Surprised? Both farming and mining already use fully or partially autonomous technology. I bet you already know about GPS-guided tractors, and you might know that big mines have big self-driving trucks and equipment. Almost no one mentions these highly-rural industries when talking about autonomous vehicles (AVs) for consumers.<\/p>\n

Automated trucks are already handling freight primarily along rural stretches of highways. Two of the first are hauling\u00a0beer<\/a> and refrigerators<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Check out the map of AV stories from Governing.com<\/a>. Notice how many are not<\/strong> in Silicon Valley, but instead out in rural areas. Be sure to click through the several years<\/em> of archives on that map.<\/p>\n

Despite these early rural uses, most of the fervent discussion of the potential uses for self-driving cars for people seem to focus on urban needs. Let’s turn that around and imagine what’s possible for rural communities when we leave the driving to the vehicle.<\/p>\n

Would rural people accept driverless cars?<\/h2>\n

I keep seeing headlines about how older people are unlikely to accept self-driving cars, and rural people are stereotyped as closed to new ideas. Those are both negative factors, but there are lots of positives.<\/p>\n

Society as a whole has accepted cars:<\/p>\n