Our nation’s leader, President Obama has mentioned that in all of his two terms in office, the idea of the self-driving car has been a fantasy that has become a reality that will change our lives forever (qtd by Moor). It is so exciting to think that the crazy imaginations of cars is actually coming true. Self-Driving car features have recently entered the nation and for the most part, have become a success. It is something being talked about worldwide. The idea of the self-driving car sounds impractical, but it has become possible and the new technologies are emerging such as fully autonomous cars like the Tesla.
A Self- Driving car provides the features that every person has been wishing for when one wants to for example, study for an upcoming test, or finish some paperwork before work. Self- Driving cars are going to be beneficial to our society by saving time and money, make our society a safer place, and alleviate traffic and the problems that follow with it. The first benefit to the invention of the self-driving car is an aid that Americans today would highly favor. It is the asset of saving time and money if one possesses a self-driving car. It will grant the driver more free time that they might not have.
Most people n today’s society will be either texting or talking on the phone while driving. Each time a person does that, they risk the chance of getting into an accident. When having a self-driving car it will give people the free time they need to text or talk on the phone without risking their lives and others around them. More free time spent in the car can be used to do other useful things like doing schoolwork, or completing a task for one’s job, while arriving on time to the destination. Normally students or teenagers can not study in the car on their way to school because they are driving.
Having a refresher on that essay they re writing first bell in English class can make all the difference if they are given a little extra time to study. Jonathan Fisher, a writer for Business Insider, states that, “The average commute time to and from work for the American worker is about 50 minutes a day. Self-driving cars would allow people to check their emails, put on makeup, and even catch up on sleep, if needed,” (Fisher). Most people’s car ride to work consists of a long drive and dreadful traffic. Fisher states above that the average commute time to and from work is 50 minutes, but for some people it may even be longer.
Every single day there are ifferent traffic patterns which may result the driver getting to work longer than he or she did the day before. That time that it takes to get to work would allow people to do extra things they may have not had time to do if they owned a normal car, such as one of the things most people value the most, sleep. On the contrary, it is known that people might have a false sense of security by mistakenly assuming the driver can fully rely on the car to do the driving and no attention is needed whatsoever, that is an issue. Recently, in China a man died in a car crash with the autopilot feature on in his Tesla.
Neal E. Boudette, a writer for the New York Times, stated “The driver’s father, Gao John, told CCTV he thought his son had been relying on Autopilot to drive the car and so was not watching the road when the crash took place” (Boudette B5). However, according to Rick O’Connor, an owner of a Tesla, states that he feels safe in the car, However, it is important to know that the autopilot feature is really not capable of full autonomy for many driving conditions. In its current level of maturity, it is very well suited for full autonomy on the interstate in light traffic, heavy traffic or traffic jams.
It is not mature enough for secondary roads (non highway roads). (Interview) Falling asleep and not paying attention to the car even though it is self-driving can be unsafe if there comes a point when you need to take over. There is still research being made, but a study at Stanford University, was shown that the students needed at least five seconds to take over the wheel of the simulation car and react to a situation that may occur such as things in the road or a pedestrian in the car only if they are not asleep (Pritchard).
How is the car supposed to alert the driver if they are asleep or not paying attention, because a lot an happen in five seconds. Such as if the car does not detect an obstacle in the distance, the “driver” should be awake and alert so they could take over if needed to. A further study about alertness is necessary because it is probable that drivers will fall asleep if they feel they do not have to pay no attention. The second thing that would be saved by owning a self-driving car is money, another substantial thing that Americans value today.
Adam Ozimek, a writer for Forbes Magazine states, The official value of a statistical life used by the Department of Transportation is $9. 2 million, so if autonomous cars can save 0,000 lives a year this is a yearly benefit of $276 billion. In addition to the lost lives, the CDC estimates that the deadly crashes in 2005 also lead to $41 billion in medical and work loss costs. So the total cost of deadly crashes per year is around $317 billion. (Ozimek) The self-driving car will reduce the number of crashes and costs that follows those crashes.
In fact, Greg Gardner, a writer for USA Today, says that most of the self- driving cars will be electric or hybrid because that is the easiest feature for computers to work with, so the need for gas money will no longer be an issue (Gardner). Generally, saving time and money is one of the main benefits that come with the invention of the self-driving car. The second benefit to owning a self-driving car is how it will make our society a safer place on the roads, and will save many lives. “Because human-driven cars don’t work very well either. In 2012, there were 30,800 fatal car crashes.
These crashes lead to the deaths of 22,912 drivers and passengers of cars, 4,957 on motorcycles, 4,743 pedestrians, and 726 on bicycles. So if autonomous cars worked so poorly that they killed 10,000 people a year they would still be saving around 20,000 lives,” (Ozimek). Saving that many lives sounds incredible, but is that accurate? The most talked about car accidents in today’s society is drunk driving and texting accidents. “Every day, 28 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver” (“Impaired Driving”).
It is such a common thing nowadays and there is almost no possible way to minimize it, except self-driving cars. The self-driving car can act sort of as an Uber or a taxi, except it is the driver’s own car and the driver will not have to pay for the ride. It will make our roads so much safer at night time and during the weekends ecause it does not only protect the person who has been drinking, it also protects the people on the road driving, which also participates in the deaths caused from drunk driving accidents. The second most talked about car accidents today is texting and driving accidents. At any given time throughout the day, approximately 660,000 drivers are attempting to use their phones while behind the wheel of an automobile” (“Cell Phone Use While Driving Statistics”). Everybody who drives a car is always tempted to use their phone and probably does. It is scary to think that a person’s eyes and focus are on a tiny screen and ot the world and people around them.
Without this focus, it can lead to crashes more than a million times a year which may include deaths. “The National Safety Council reports that cell phone use while driving leads to 1. million crashes each year” (“Cell Phone Use While Driving Statistics). With the advantages of the self-driving car, those crashes will decrease substantially. Driver’s will be able to text if they really need to while in the car and not danger those around them. If every car was ran by a computer, every single car would all be on the same network and would avoid a car crash that would have ost likely happen everyday. the self-driving car is no more congestion, fuel use, and any relating issues that come along with those.
As of right now, a freeway at maximum capability has vehicles The third benefit covering only 5% of its surface. Drivers always hate those cars behind them riding their bumper, but self-driving car contradicts that idea by being clustered together that can be called platoons, with just inches between the bumpers while driving. Research says that clustering the cars together can increase the lane capacity, and will allow cars to reduce fuel use up to 20%. (Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership). On the roads and highways everyone travels different speeds.
Having to always accelerate and brake causes traffic and uses up extra fuel. It will save more time and make getting to your destination quicker than normal. The federal government spends a lot of money expanding highways. If everyone were to go at the same synchronized speed, it would minimize congestion and the maximum fuel use will no longer be a problem. The need for expanding highways will also no longer be an issue. Self-driving cars are going to be a benefit to our society by saving time and money, making our society safer and inimizing traffic and the problems that follow with it.
Time and money are two necessities that Americans value today. The self- driving car allows the driver to save both time and money. It will provide free time in the car, and help save money by decreasing car crashes and the costs that result from them, whether it is medical costs, or damages to the car costs. Having to spend money on gas every single week will no longer be a problem because most of the self-driving cars will be electric. The self- driving car will help our society much safer by minimizing the different car crashes each year, specifically drunk driving and exting accidents.
With this type of car, nobody will have to worry if there are drunk drivers on the road or if someone is not paying attention and on their phone. Thirdly, the self-driving car will lessen the amount of traffic and congestion on the roads with the idea of platooning the self-driving cars together. This will making getting to the destination faster and will also minimize the amount of fuel used, minimizing the amount of fuel used will help our environment. This new invention will change our world and how we live every day, and it is something to look forward to.
