Posted on :Saturday , 23rd May 2015

SELF driving cars which may come to Tanzania by 2027 will help reduce deaths on local roads, experts from an online car marketing portal, Carmudi Tanzania Limited said.

In a statement, Carmudi said although the idea of a self driving car seems to be distant for the local market which is one of the most deadly when it comes to driving in Africa.

"In addition to cutting costs, self driving cars can save lives. The majority of crashes in Tanzania are caused by human error. Given that self driving cars eliminate the need for human control, it follows that such vehicles could reduce road traffic deaths in Tanzania by a massive 90 percent," the firm added.

In addition to saving lives, self driving cars can help solve daily obstacles including traffic jams. There are between 420,311 and 977,468 registered cars in Tanzania, and drivers can expect to spend up to eight working days a year stuck in gridlocks. "Self driving cars will help combat the traffic problem by reducing the number of cars on the roads.

For example, in the United States, it is predicted that self driving cars could help cut average car ownership rates by as much as 43 percent from an average of 2.1 to 1.2 vehicles per household," the release noted.

If we apply these findings to Tanzania we would see the number of cars drop to roughly to 557,157 which would mean fewer gridlocks and more time spent at the workplace being productive, the statement pointed out.

"Research has found that self-driving cars, when introduced in the United States, could reduce crash costs by up to 488 billion US dollars and boost productivity by 645 billion US dollars."

The good news is that car manufacturers are already offering vehicles to the Tanzania car market that are available to purchase with autonomous features such as basic forward-collision warning systems and automatic braking systems.

"These safety features already contribute greatly to reducing the risk of accidents by up to 15 per cent and by 2020, car brands such as GM, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Nissan, BMW, Renault, Tesla and Google expect to sell vehicles worldwide that can drive themselves at least part of the time," the Carmudi statement concluded.