GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. ― Myrna Peterson predicts self-driving vehicles will be a ticket out of isolation and loneliness for people like her, who live outside big cities and have disabilities that prevent them from driving.
Peterson, who has quadriplegia, is an enthusiastic participant in an unusual test of autonomous vehicles in this corner of northern Minnesota. She helped attract government funding to bring five self-driving vans to Grand Rapids, a city of 11,000 people in a region of pine and birch forests along the Mississippi River.
The project’s self-driving vans always have a human operator in the driver’s seat, poised to take over in complicated situations. But the computers are in control about 90% of the time, and they’ve given 5,000 rides since 2022 without any accidents, organizers say.
“It’s been fun. I’m really sold on it,” said Peterson, who used to rely on her power wheelchair to travel around town, even in winter.
Autonomous vehicles, which can drive themselves at least part of the time, are making news in urban areas, such as San Francisco, where extensive tests of the technology are underway.
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Rural experiments have been set up in a few other states, including Iowa and Ohio. Peterson hopes the pilot projects help bring a day when fully autonomous cars and vans assist the estimated 25 million Americans whose travel is limited by disabilities.
Fully independent vehicles remain …
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GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. ― Myrna Peterson predicts self-driving vehicles will be a ticket out of isolation and loneliness for people like her, who live outside big cities and have disabilities that prevent them from driving.
Peterson, who has quadriplegia, is an enthusiastic participant in an unusual test of autonomous vehicles in this corner of northern Minnesota. She helped attract government funding to bring five self-driving vans to Grand Rapids, a city of 11,000 people in a region of pine and birch forests along the Mississippi River.
The project’s self-driving vans always have a human operator in the driver’s seat, poised to take over in complicated situations. But the computers are in control about 90% of the time, and they’ve given 5,000 rides since 2022 without any accidents, organizers say.
“It’s been fun. I’m really sold on it,” said Peterson, who used to rely on her power wheelchair to travel around town, even in winter.
Autonomous vehicles, which can drive themselves at least part of the time, are making news in urban areas, such as San Francisco, where extensive tests of the technology are underway.
Email Sign-Up
Subscribe to KFF Health News’ free Morning Briefing.
Rural experiments have been set up in a few other states, including Iowa and Ohio. Peterson hopes the pilot projects help bring a day when fully autonomous cars and vans assist the estimated 25 million Americans whose travel is limited by disabilities.
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