Driverless cars could increase motion sickness

Driverless cars may be the way of the future, but if you're prone to motion sickness, the idea of being able to have your own invisible chauffeur is about to sound a little less appealing.

A study from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute found that riding in driverless cars could make more people motion sick. The main reason for this is rather logical: Passengers, not drivers, are the most likely to experience motion sickness, because they are less able to anticipate the direction of motion.

"By switching from driver to passenger, by definition, one gives up control over the direction of motion, and there are no remedies for this," the study authors wrote. If everybody is a passenger in the age of self-driving cars, this also means that people won't have to keep their eyes on the road at all times — which means, of course, that people are more likely to read or use their phones, which can cause motion sickness.

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According to the study, six to 10 percent of American adults in driverless cars will experience motion sickness. But if that stat sickens you, perhaps just make sure that on the day you finally ride in a self-driving car, you look out the window.