Illinois should hit the gas on driverless cars

If you live in the Chicago area, chances are you’ve heard about a traffic fatality in your neighborhood over the last year. That’s because Illinois is currently experiencing a traffic safety crisis, with nearly 300,000 crashes in 2023. The Chicago area is at the epicenter of the problem, with more than half of those crashes happening on Cook County roads.

The impacts of these crashes are not spread evenly. Researchers consistently find that Black and Latino pedestrians, drivers and passengers are killed at much higher rates than other Americans. This inequity stems from a history of disinvestment in Black and Latino neighborhoods, where roads are busier and often lack basic safety infrastructure like sidewalks and crosswalks. It’s an unacceptable burden that no community should have to bear.

To their credit, state leaders are taking the problem seriously with the ambitious Zero Traffic Fatalities initiative. But there’s more that Illinois can do to make its roads safer for everyone, like embracing the transformative potential of autonomous vehicles (AVs). With world-class universities and a thriving logistics sector, the Chicago area could lead the Midwest in AV deployment, paving the way for safer, greener and more equitable transportation across the region.

It’s easy to understand the safety advantages that driverless cars have over human drivers. AVs don’t drink and drive or get distracted. They don’t get tired or aggressive. They have sensors capable of continuous monitoring on all sides, and they maintain high accuracy even during an Illinois winter. And unlike human drivers, they always follow the speed limit.

In Illinois, that kind of safe, distraction-free driving could save lives. National studies show that AVs can reduce crashes with injuries by up to 85% compared to human drivers. Replacing just a fraction of Illinois’ vehicles with AVs could prevent hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries every year.

Beyond delivering safer roads, AVs can also connect people who have been left behind by today’s transportation system. Nearly half a million Cook County residents live in transit deserts, and one in nine people in Illinois live with a disability. For many, gaps in accessible transit mean being cut off from jobs, health care and education. AVs can help bridge that divide by providing flexible, safe, and reliable mobility options.

Illinois is also uniquely positioned to reap the economic benefits of AV adoption. With Chicago’s role as a national logistics hub, AV deployment could modernize freight movement, reduce bottlenecks and create thousands of new tech and infrastructure jobs. Last year, Chamber of Progress released a study finding that AVs are poised to create 114,000 jobs nationwide. Most of these are high-paying jobs that don’t require a four-year degree, offering a new pathway to the middle class for thousands of Illinois residents.

Illinois doesn’t have to accept rising traffic fatalities as inevitable. We have the technology, the talent and the infrastructure to build a safer and more connected future. It’s time for Illinois to hit the gas on AV deployment.

• Kouri Marshall is a director of state and local government relations at the Chamber of Progress, a tech industry coalition. He leads advocacy across more than 30 states on issues including AI, rideshare, and digital platforms, and previously served in the Office of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.