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Driverless cars benefits and consequences
Driverless cars benefits and consequences
Driverless cars benefits and consequences
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As Adam Rogers explains in his Wired Magazine article “Getting There,” driverless transportation is not a novel concept. Instead, its idealistic implications have been omnipresent in the minds of inventors and traffic engineers for more than seventy years (Rogers 76). But it is only now, with the gradual augmentation of technology and changes predicted by Moore’s Law that we have gained the ability to create such vehicles. The Trends E-Magazine article titled “Driverless Cars: Coming to Your Streets Sooner Than You Think,” further examines the factors contributing to the rise and foreseeable overhaul of the highways by autonomous cars, attributing their growth to three central factors. First, as technology becomes increasingly intertwined with …show more content…
First, driverless cars cannot currently function in extreme weather such as snow. Thompson points out in his article, “No Parking Here” that this limitation makes it unlikely that they will pass safety standards in various regions of the United States and around the world (Thompson 22). Additionally, the advent of autonomous cars will have significant economic ramifications because, as noted by Biba in his article “Carmageddon,” this transition will displace almost all driving related occupations. Despite the massive scale of such a displacement, Biba contends that its consequences are still “unclear” and its exact implications will remain unknown until its occurrence (Biba 31). Another commonly held concern is that self-driving cars will be used to collect data on passengers’ transportation habits that will be sold to advertising companies. The Trends E-Magazine article “Driverless Cars: Coming to Your Streets Sooner Than You Think,” comments on this concern, specifying that passengers will need to accept “giving up some privacy in exchange for convenience” (Trends E-Magazine
With driverless cars becoming more and more of a possibility in the near future, it has brought up questions about how it will affect our economy, as well as the jobs of the public. Uber drivers, truck drivers, cab drivers’ jobs are at risk along with the companies that provide them. Many industries may also be affected. There are an approximate “1.8 million heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in the U.S. earning a median income of $40,260 per year” (Bureau of Labor Statistics). 1.8 million people may seem like a small number compared to the 318.9 million individuals living in the U.S., but it will have a large effect on those drivers when they have to find a new job to support themselves
Self-driving cars are now hitting a few roadways in America, and are showing people just a small glimpse into what could be the future of automobiles. Although Google’s self-driving cars are getting a lot of attention now, the idea of a self-driving car has been around for quite a while actually. These cars have been tested to their limits, but the American people have yet to adopt the technology into their everyday lives. A brief description of their history, how they work, and finally answer the question, will self-driving cars ever be adopted widely by the American public?
There will be a day when driving will not require a license. Children will be traveling on their own, teens will be texting while driving, adults will be doing their jobs while driving, and the elderly who are visually or physically impaired will be able to transport themselves (Symonds). This will be made possible through new technological car advancements that will enable a car to be driverless. With technology increasing exponentially, and our everyday lives getting busier and busier, we need a solution. Weeks of productivity are lost each year by Americans (Pollette). Driverless cars will cause this issue to vanish by reducing delays and smoothing traffic flow (Winston). Most technology will have flaws, and this is also true for driverless cars’ technology. Improvements are being made to enhance the car (Pollette), but accidents will still take place. Despite the flaws, driverless cars will make trips shorter, and when trips are long, we will be able to multitask.
Companies like Google, Tesla and Nissan, among others, have announced over the past few years that their companies are trying to develop self-driving or autonomous cars [Ref. 1 and 2]. Self-driving cars can provide many benefits to the average consumer. Studies have shown that because computers can react and process information many times faster than a human being, crashes on streets and roads can be decreased with quick and consistent evasion maneuvers by the autonomous car. They can also help maximize fuel economy by calculating the most direct and fastest routes. When the driving of an autonomous car demonstrates that the computer can safely and reliably transport the passengers to their destination, this frees up the passengers to do other things that they would not normally be able to do if they were driving the car manually. For this reason, self-driving cars can help maximize productivity of their passengers.
Imagine having your life flash before your eyes while you were still wearing diapers. And imagine having a hot hunk of metal crash into you and shatter your sense of everything. When I was just three years old, I was the victim of a very scary car accident. While waiting to make a turn into my nursery school, my mom’s car was rear-ended by a car driving at 50 miles per hour. I remember how incredibly loud the collision was and even how the windows seemed to shiver in their rubber holders. Seeing my mom's head fly back and feeling the car swerve into the opposing traffic, I thought I was going to die. And why did this happen? Because the person driving behind us was texting on her phone and was not focused on the road. All of this, the emotional, physical, and financial damage, and the possibility of losing my mom's or my own life, could have been prevented if the car behind us was a driverless car. Briefly, a driverless car is capable of driving itself via an intricate system of cameras, sensors and computers. I propose that human drivers should be replaced with driverless cars because driverless cars are safer and more efficient.
While there have been surveys to understand how people feel about self-driving vehicles, they only surveyed a little over a thousand, which isn’t comparable to the millions of people who actually drive cars (Degroat). Many, more than 70 percent, do believe that autonomic vehicles will reduce accidents, the severity of the crash, and help the fuel economy, nearly as many are concerned about the way the car will perform under unusual or unexpected circumstances, as compared to the way a human could react and perform, along with if the vehicle would have any system malfunctions (Degroat). Even though the car companies are working on the technology to make the cars safe and dependable, it would be easy for someone to “hack” into the vehicle to steal it, or take personal information from the vehicle like where they have been and where they plan to go (Degroat). Many also wonder how well the car will do under different climate and driving circumstances; will the car’s mechanics and equipment work well in a tropical or artic like environment, or how will it interact in New York City as opposed to a very rural and rugged environment like a farm. With the sensors and cameras attached to the car, will it be able to tell the difference and respond differently among other vehicles, pedestrians, and non-motored objects on the
While many people are all about autonomous cars and the benefits that they will bring to society, there are people who oppose driver less cars. Google has faced major censure from critics that are uneasy with the method that the automobile will u...
Inventors hope to help people with autonomous cars because “autonomous cars can do things that human drivers can’t” (qtd. in “Making Robot Cars More Human). One of the advantages that driverless cars have is that “They can see through fog or other inclement weather, and sense a stalled car or other hazard ahead and take appropriate action” (qtd. in “Making Robot Cars More Human). Harsh weather conditions make it difficult and dangerous for people to drive, however, the car’s ability to drive through inclement weather “frees the user’s time, creates opportunities for individuals with less mobility, and increases overall road safety” (Bose 1326). With all the technology and software in the car, it can “improve road traffic system[s] and reduces road accidents” (Kumar). One of the purposes for creating the driverless car was to help “make lives easier for senior citizens, people with disabilities, people who are ill, or people who are under influence of alcohol” (Kumar). It can be frightening to know that that we share share our roads with drivers that could potentially endanger our lives as well as other people’s lives. How can people not feel a sense of worry when “cars kill roughly 32,000 people a year in the U.S.” (Fisher 60)? Drivers who text while driving or drink and drive greatly impact the safety of other people, and Google hopes to reduces the risk of accidents and save lives with the
Self-driving cars are the wave of the future. There is much debate regarding the impact a self-driving car will have on our society and economy. Some experts believe fully autonomous vehicles will be on the road in the next 5-10 years (Anderson). This means a vehicle will be able to drive on the road without a driver or any passengers. Like any groundbreaking technology, there is a fear of the unforeseen problems. Therefore, there will need to be extensive testing before anyone can feel safe with a vehicle of this style on the road. It will also take time for this type of technology to become financially accessible to the masses, but again alike any technology with time it should be possible. Once the safety concern has been fully addressed
Technology is evolving faster than ever these days, however there is one technology that could revolutionize the transportation industry. This technology is called autonomous cars, also known as self-driving cars. Autonomous cars can be defined as a vehicle that is capable of sensing its environment, and navigating without human input. Using different techniques such as GPS and radar, autonomous cars can detect surroundings, thus removing the human element in driving. This would have a positive effect in more ways than we could ever imagine. Research suggests that self-driving cars will become more abundant in the future because they will be more cost-effective, enhance safety, and decrease traffic congestion.
When 2013 ended, only Nevada, California, Florida, and Michigan had made laws addressing self-driving vehicles and testing them on the road. As of this year, only Washington D.C. and Virginia have decided to start allowing public road testing of driverless cars. In the spring of 2015, Swisscom a telephone company in Switzerland was able to test a self-driving Volkswagen Passat on the streets of Zurich by the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications in Switzerland. A few known vehicle companies that are now involved in making driverless vehicles includes BMW, Audi, Volvo with Apple letting their competitors know they are expanding their ideas into more technology. Some possible or future productions from specific
Have you ever heard of driverless cars and how amazing they can get us from point A to point B? What if I told you that's not how it all seems? What if I told you that driverless cars are only half the problem of car accidents that happen today in the present? Would you believe me, or not? We’ve all heard about driverless cars, how perfect and amazing they can be.
The engineering that goes into a driverless car covers all areas of mechanics, computing software and so on which still tends to frighten some drivers of its monstrosity on the inside. In the article “Google Cars Becoming Safer: Let the Robots Drive” it states that, “The economic lift from ridding the roads of human-driven vehicles would be over $190 billion per year. That would primarily come from reducing property damage caused by low-speed collisions”(Salkever). The point is that when driverless cars hit the road the cost of low-speed collision and save consumers money will be reduced. In the article “ Google Driverless Cars Run Into Problem: Cars With Drivers” Slakever states that “One Google car, in a test in 2009, couldn’t get through a four-way stop because its sensors kept waiting for other (human) drivers to stop completely and let it go. The human drivers kept inching forward, looking for the advantage — paralyzing Google’s robot”(Bosker). Current drivers have never followed the rule of the road, which have made the road more prone to any accident. Drivers have found the upper hand on not following traffic laws that makes manufacturing driverless car more meticulous to decrease accidents and breaking traffic laws. The fact that driverless car sensors can detect the errors of other human driven car is extraordinary. Human driven cars are trying to stick to the status quo of the roads when in reality human driven cars are breaking valuable innovation that will make the roads safe for generations to
Cars are now have the technology to help drivers stay in their lane, avoid collisions, and have become very advanced over the years. And these kinds of features are not just on luxury cars, they also come on models that everyone can afford. The advancement of technology in cars has come a long way since Henry Ford first invented them. These features are there to keep the driver and other people on the road safe. The first driverless car should be available for the public very soon, since so many companies are working on a model.
In recent years, the technology to advance cars to the point of automation has been developing drastically. The idea of automated cars, before the 1950’s, was solely considered to be science fiction. Self-driving cars were only theorized until the concept of an automated car became more realistic as progressions began in 1958, when Nebraska attempted to create cars that could drive themselves through radio signals along electrical circuits. These designs were not all successful many of which continued to have many errors in their design and in their ability to react to unpredicted issues that could spontaneously arise out on an open road. (“Self-Driving Cars”) Since then controversies have arose to safety issues regarding the ability of automated