Everybody remembers their first car that was given to them by either their parents or were fortunate enough to buy with their own money. In earlier years, the car you probably wanted something more like a Range Rover or Camaro. Today, you’d probably hear kids all across the world say they’d want something more in the Tesla range or even something like a BMW i8. The advancements that cars have made in even the last five years have been mind-blowing even to the point where self-driving cars became more than just a dream, it became a reality. The advancements that cars could make in the future shouldn’t be underestimated. There are reports of a fuel cell hydrogen vehicle being on the way as well. It’s interesting to see where the technology can take off and go in the next five years.
When looking at the pros and cons of self-driving cars, it’s interesting to see what lens you have to look at it in when contrasting the two. For the pros, one of the main things that is argued for is its reliability. NHTSA estimated that 94% of serious crashes are due to human error or poor choices, such as drunk or distracted driving. I believe that these self-driving cars can remove most risk factors that come from crashes or other accidents. Traffic would also be a lot easier to maneuver through. In theory, if the roads were mostly occupied by autonomous cars, traffic would flow smoothly, and there would be less traffic congestion. In fully automated cars, the occupants could do productive activities while commuting to work. People who can’t drive due to physical limitations could find new independence through autonomous vehicles and would have the opportunity to work in fields that require driving. Life in general, would be a lot more smooth because of the mental aspect of driving that has been eliminated.
There are also cons to the self-driving world of cars. One of the biggest issues involves self-driving cars being used as your backup driver instead of the main driver. The downsides of self-driving technology could be that riding in a vehicle without a driver behind the steering wheel may be unnerving — at least at first. But as self-driving capabilities become commonplace, human drivers may become overly reliant on the autopilot technology and leave their safety in the hands of automation, even when they should act as backup drivers in case of software failures or mechanical issues.
I was recently in a situation with my friends where one thought they were a better driver than a self driving car while drunk and the other thought vice versa. This now leads me to the question that made me even think about writing this blog post in the first place. Do we believe that drunk drivers are better or worse drivers than self driving cars?
Personally, I believe that the right drunk driver would be able to do better than a self-driving car. I feel like the main doubt comes from the fact that the computer may malfunction and cause a wreck. I’d rather put my trust in someone who has a certification to drive and had years of experience