Reading 12 — Self-Driving Cars
The biggest motivation for developing and employing self-driving cars is to make the roads safer for everyone involved. The idea is that computers and sensors can plan and respond to outside stimuli much faster than humans can. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over 94 percent of vehicular crashes are caused by human error. Because of this data and the aforementioned superiority of autonomous cars to react to their surroundings, the main argument for self-driving cars is that they will reduce the total number of car crashes and thus the total number of fatalities due to automobiles. Some of the arguments against self-driving vehicles are crowded cities, more pollution, and the potential demise of public transportation as well as less revenue for cities from parking. I think ultimately they would make our roads safer, but we need to make sure that we regulate them sufficiently with these counter-arguments in mind rather than just focusing on the safety benefits.
One common issue people bring up with self-driving cars is how to approach life and death situations. Basically, the question is, should self-driving cars be programmed to hit an oncoming pedestrian if it cannot avoid them, or swerve off the road, potentially harming the riders? There are other variations such as, would this decision change if their were young children on board and an elderly person on the street? I don’t think this decision should be left up to the programmers, there should be much deliberation over what the best solution is, and hopefully the programmers only job would be to implement this solution. I don’t think you can give a blanket statement about who is liable during these situations, as they are all different. For example, if a pedestrian jumps out in front of a self-driving car, that car nor its manufacturer or driver is liable in my opinion, but it’s a different story if the car runs a red light.
I think self-driving cars, as well as trucks and buses will become an integral part of our society. They will revolutionize how people get around in our country, and they will also drastically disrupt how cities and consumers spend/make money when it comes to transportation. I don’t think this is a bad thing, I just think it’s all a part of a major change in our society. Self-driving cars will also lead to major political changes, as I think in the end, it is completely on the government to decide how this new technology should be used.
Personally, I really want a self-driving car, but only when I know that they have been thoroughly tested. I don’t really like driving, especially in crowded cities. There are also many times where I am tired or not feeling well, and an autonomous vehicle would certainly be safer on the roads than myself. One of the biggest reasons I would want a self-driving car is simply convenience. I spend a lot of time driving, and if I didn’t have to give all of my attention to the road, I could spend that time doing many other things, which I think is pretty cool.
