Driver's risk field: A step towards a unified driver model

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 94-96% of the road accidents involve human error. These statistics make it seem as if humans are terrible drivers. However, a different set of numbers paint a completely different picture. According to the United States Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the failure rate of human drivers is 0.68 fatalities per 100 million kilometres. This number is so low that autonomous vehicle manufacturers are having a hard time proving that their vehicles are safer than human drivers. The safety benefits of Driver Assistance Systems, autonomous vehicles, and other safety systems are not being challenged here. However, it needs to be realised that a non-fatigued, attentive human is one of the safest drivers we can have....