If you’ve been reading the news in the last few months, youmight have seen mentions here and there of the autonomous vehicles. Autonomousvehicles are cars that drive themselves without human input. The vehicle would be used much like a car with a car navigation system with an in dash navigation screen - you would climb in, input your destination, and the car would take you there. This is not a newconcept, but lately the concept has garnered a lot of attention because a fewcompanies have built working models. Have you ever stopped to think about whatchanges autonomous vehicles might bring?
There are a lot of advantages to taking the human out of theequation of everyday driving. Computers are much more precise and do not gettired, upset, or distracted. There would be drastically less accidents becauseof this fact alone. These cars would merge perfectly with other vehicles andmaintain an exact distance between the cars in front of it. Have you ever seenthe Pixar movie Wall-E? Imagine cars like all of the robots neatly slippingonto marked highways and speeding off in perfect regulation.
Problem is, humans driving on the road with autonomousvehicles would be a lot like antiquated Wall-E himself. Humans do not have theprecision necessary to execute merging into a tightly knit freeway. Will therebe a time where laws discourage, or outright forbid, people to drive their owncars on public roads?
Another advantage however is getting to relax while the cardrives for you. Even spending the night out drinking would not prevent you fromclimbing in your car and telling it to convey you safely home. The interiorcabins of cars could look very different from automobiles today – the steeringwheel, gauge panel, and shifter would all be unnecessary. The inside of a carcould look like a cozy living room where people relax and chat while they getto where they need to go. You could lie down and take a nap, or text message toyour heart’s content.
Many of us can think of instances where we have seen driverson the road that should not be driving at all. Using autonomous vehicles, being too young, too old, disabled, or justplain bad a driving would not bar anyone from safe and effective travel. Theonly people who might choose to drive their own vehicles are those that enjoyit – people who typically know the ways of the road well.
It is true that for the majority of Americans, cars are usedas purely a mode of convenient transportation. Taking the stress out ofcommuting would improve quality of life for many people. There are biggerissues at hand, of course, like who is responsible in an accident whenautonomous vehicles are involved. Nevertheless I feel autonomous vehicles willbecome a reality in the not-too-distant future.
