Why Do Regular Cars Play A Significant Role In Our Society

For many people, cars are essential in their daily life. However, the increase of cars on roads is continuing, so it is a significant cause of accidents. One solution for this issue is the driverless cars. This essay will compare two the benefits of driverless cars over human-driven cars.

Right now self-driving cars and trucks are hitting the road and will soon be available to the general market . Major companies like Google, Tesla, Uber and Delphi are leading in autonomous cars industry. In the past few years, these companies have made great strides improving this technology. Addressing the concerns for this technology must be concluded before it reaches the general public. Given the current state of automobiles that don’t need drivers the American consumer needs to be mindful that moral decisions this technology is handling puts them at risk due to the fact that this is emerging technology, laws are being made that will shape this technology, and who is choosing who lives and who dies.

First driverless cars are much less likely to crash. In fact “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that between 93 percent and 95 percent of car accidents are caused by human error” (par. 5, Tribune). This study displays

Are Americans ready for cars that can drive themselves?, will it be safe for “ai’s” on the road instead of normal human drivers?, and how will this be beneficial to traffic, crashes, and time? In the Newsela article, “pro/con: self-driving cars are just around the corner. Is it a good thing?”, By Tribune News Service, Self-driving cars remove many of the human mistakes that cause injuries and deaths. Self-driving cars can also help disabled and elderly people get from place to place on their own. The self-driving cars that are now being developed use many forms of technology to drive themselves. Radar, cameras and other devices are used to "see" the world around the car. Advanced computer systems drive the car from one destination to another without any help from humans. Self-driving cars offer such a wealth of advantages that it makes little difference whether Americans are ready. Americans need to get ready. Self-driving cars will soon be in their rearview mirrors.

In her article “To Hit the Road, Driverless Cars Must Be Safe, Not Perfect,” Nidhi Kalra argues that because humans are untrustworthy when it comes to safe driving, we should adapt to driverless cars. She provides three premises to support her argument. First, she presents the data of deaths and injuries that were caused by human mistakes. Second, she points out that even though driverless cars may never reach perfection, they would never make miscalculations or mistakes that human drivers make all the time, such as drunk driving, drowsy driving, or driving with distraction. Third, she argues that driverless cars offer benefits such as bettering mobility and efficiency, reducing congestion costs and land use. With these primary premises, Kalra persuades that driverless cars should hit the road one day to reduce amounts of accidents that are likely made by human drivers.

Most people believe that these self-driving cars are going to make our roads much safer than they are with human drivers. According to an article titled “Road Crash Statistics” by the Association for Safe International Road Travel, “nearly 1.3 million people die in road crashes each year, on average 3,287 a day.” They also claim that road crashes is the ninth leading cause of death. Obviously automobiles are dangerous, but they are also very effective for transportation. According to Statista there were over 7 million cars sold to U.S. customers in 2014. Even though automobiles have caused so many deaths, most people really need them.

The article, “The Promise of a Post-Driver Life” states, car accidents occur every day, leaving someone seriously injured about every seven-seconds and one dead about every fourteen minutes (Humas). Surprisingly, driverless vehicles are on the rise and people do not know how to react or what to think about them. While the number of accidents on the road has increased over the years. Driverless cars could be a solution to help to mend the problem and help eliminate driver errors. Some people believe we should have driverless vehicles while others say they would be too dangerous. Many people in the United States feel driverless cars can create a decrease in the number of accidents, create a better traffic flow, and create greater mobility for those who cannot drive, while others say it would be too hazardous with possible computer malfunctions, cyber attacks, and relying on algorithms to make ethical decisions.

The primary concern with transportation is safety; hence the most obvious and largest benefit to the replacement of regular cars with self-driving cars is the decrease in traffic collisions. “Ninety percent of our road accidents are related to bad driving behavior; driving recklessly and speeding under the influence of alcohol, changing lanes without signaling, driving on the hard shoulder and passing through red lights.” -Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan Commander in chief of the Dubai Police (Olarte, 2011). The majority of car crashes is caused by human errors, and if this proposition is implemented, the number of fatalities due to car accidents per year will dramatically plummet. In 2012, a Google driverless car had driven over 300,000 miles, with only two accidents being reported, both of which had been a human’s fault (Emerson, 2012). Autonomous cars will have quicker reflexes than humans, make more reliable judgments and will not commit silly mistakes such as texting whilst driving. As a collateral for reducing accidents, this innovation could theoretically also save the government

Not only will driverless vehicles save people money, but they will save lives in the process. According to ASIRT, a non-profit humanitarian organization that promotes road safety, 1.3 million people die from a car crash per year in the world, which is on average 3,287 per day (“Road Crash Statistics”). On top of that number, 20-50 million are disabled or injured per year, and car crashes are the ninth leading cause of death (“Road Crash Statistics”). The reason for these crashes could possibly be car troubles while driving, like the brakes not working or hitting a pothole, but the number one cause of crashes is being distracted. “According to one analysis, 4 million of the nearly 11 million crashes that occur annually could potentially be avoided if distractions were eliminated” (Pelini). Another study has shown that when typing or reading on a phone while driving adversely affects one’s stimulus detection time, reaction time, lane positioning, vehicle control, and increases the chance of a collision (Pelini). With the use of driverless vehicles people could be on their phones while driving and not be in any danger of crashing. Distracted drivers and even drunk drivers will be eliminated if driverless vehicles are implemented into society, it’s just a matter of time when they will become the social

As technology progresses, so do the needs and wants of people, societies, and governments. Since the first car was created in 1885 by Karl Benz, there have been significant improvements over time such as the brake, radio, air-conditioning, seat belt, and air bag. In today’s world, the use of self-driving cars has progressed from a dream into a reality. Companies like BMW and Tesla have already implemented the self-driving feature into their cars. The use of self-driving cars will continue to become more popular and will eventually become an essential part of society.

In the year 2013, 3,154 people were killed due to distracted driver related crashes. Motor vehicle accidents are the number two leading cause of preventable deaths. Once driverless cars are put onto the streets, these numbers would decrease drastically. Imagine losing your loved one due to a teenager that was drunk or texting while driving. Self-driving cars cannot drink behind the wheel nor take a text back their best friend. Not only does accident collisions happen due to distracted driving but also angry drivers. Some drivers can be very aggressive on the road. With the addition of driverless cars, road rage drivers can be eliminated from society. Speeding drivers are also a very high cause of accidents and innocent pedestrians being hit. Driverless cars are equipped to follow the rules of the road and keep the streets safe

With the technology of self driving cars traffic fatalities would be reduced by 90 percent. In 2013 32,719 people died in car crashes which means that using the number of fatalities in 2013 self driving cars could save 29,447 lives a year, That's nearly 300,000 fatalities prevented over a decade, and 1.5 million lives saved over a half-century.

Cars need to be central in our lives, because without them we couldn’t do much. Without a car you would have to live in walking distance from your job. Also you have to live in walking distance of a grocery store or you can’t have food or snacks in your home. You are also stuck inside the city you live and if you don’t have a car it’s hard to go different places.

The majority of car crashes are a result of a human error. In comparison to the countless amount of bad behaviors a driver might exhibit behind a wheel such as tiredness and drunkenness, a computer is an ideal motorist due to the impossibility of distractions. Self-driving cars use complicated algorithms to determine the appropriate stopping distance and distance from another vehicle, dramatically decreasing the chance of an accident. The article also states, “Their [Google’s] cars have driven more than half a million miles without a crash.” Autonomous cars inhibit the unlikelihood of distractions and resourceful technology to downturn the regularity of car

There are legitimate reasons to urge caution when considering implementing autonomous cars rapidly in today’s complex transportation system. For example, autonomous cars will eventually face a moral dilemma (Anderson). In the event of an inevitable crash, how will an autonomous car respond when faced with a situation that threatens the safety of the passenger, versus the safety of a pedestrian? Although these red flags do provide sufficient evidence to provide concern, the benefits of autonomous cars outweigh the possible mistakes that will come along the way. Eventually, autonomous cars will have many advantages over user driven cars as they will make roads safer and reduce traffic, among other benefits.