Just another opinion on self driving cars

The world is filled with clutter, so let’s add to it

The Daily Apex
Aug 23, 2017 · 3 min read

Ah yes, self driving cars. The thing so many of us are afraid of, but why? Mainly because we don’t have control. Humans are obsessed with control and when it comes to something like driving, it gets ramped up. Personally, the level of anxiety that comes on when someone else is driving, despite the skill, is a sight to behold. However this is mainly because i’m obsessed with driving. Feeling the connection between you and the road is something i’m sure many car lovers know all to well. Despite all of these feelings, we desperately need self driving cars.

The dream…(image: http://afuturelostintime.tumblr.com)

The reason being is of course safety. Most road deaths are caused by human error, which means most of them can be prevented. I’m sure all the experts have gone over this but everything from drunk drivers, texting, and just plain old bad drivers can cause irreparable harm to others. Self driving cars will have the ability to constantly communicate with each other which is something we would never be able to do. While the self driving cars are doing their thing the efficiency of our daily lives would increase exponentially. Okay maybe not exponentially but it would certainly improve.

All the time we spend driving can be put to better use, catching up on emails and even just catching up on sleep. Because lets be honest everyone could use an extra 20 minutes. The real benefits kick in on the travel time. With virtually no crashes (hopefully) traffic flow and speed would be adjusted based on volume. It would always run efficiently and because of this speeds could actually increase.

Of course, this is all based on if every single car was self driving. This probably won’t happen soon so don’t worry, you have some adjusting time. I say adjusting time because this is going to happen, whether people like it or not, it just depends on when. Right now Tesla, Audi, and other major players in this evolving industry are working on cars with level 3 automated capabilities. This means they just make decisions themselves, like when to pass or let someone in. The driver would then be the fallback if the system fails. Right now, Tesla has the hardware capable for level 5 which is fully automated so the driver doesn’t even need to be behind the wheel.

Tesla autopilot camera vision diagram (image: Tesla Canada)

For those that just love to drive, don’t fret. I can guarantee you that there are enough petrol heads around to make sure that within the next 60 years you can still drive a normal car. When it comes to recharging and maintenance, that can be done pretty simply..ish. Battery technology will increase exponentially as well in the coming years. Especially with Formula E gaining popularity the development will only increase. With that in mind you could expect batteries to be constantly self charging. Maintenance could just be done by routing cars to a service area or having another autonomous car come get you and fix the problem. Yes, the autonomous cars could theoretically keep breaking down making help an endless cry, but that can happen with tow trucks too.

This may seem like a biased piece by just focusing on the benefits. That’s because it is. To me, the benefits greatly outweigh the costs. Sure certain industries might struggle and jobs will be impacted but new ones will be created. If you look at history jobs come back, even if things take a turn for the worse. For this to take off, other people in the public have to promote it not just the manufacturers. This all sounds fun and dandy but when the time comes, will you be willing to trust it?

Relentlessly honest opinions on all things sports and entertainment.

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The Daily Apex

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