Learning how to drive served as a right of passage for millions of adults worldwide.
It’s absolutely necessary in modern civilization, especially when “point A” isn’t real close to “point B,” or when public transportation isn’t really a viable option. How much longer will driving be a critical skill? Today’s toddlers may never have to learn how to drive. Or at least if they do, they may not rely on that skill as heavily as we do now.
The technology for driverless cars will arrive sooner, rather than later. I’m personally excited by the prospect of going to sleep and waking up at my destination. I’m excited about having my nose in a book instead of watching the road.
Taking human error out of the driving process makes the roads safer. It will drastically reduce the number of accidents, and save thousands of lives in the process.
Driverless cars will likely reduce traffic on the road – especially in urban areas. If companies like Tesla are working on electric driverless cars, then less traffic plus electric vehicles amounts to reduced emissions.
The conveniences of not having to drive are abundantly clear.
The Players
The competition to grab a piece of the driverless car market is fierce.
Uber released a fleet of driverless Ford Fusions as part of a pilot program last September. Elon Musk says Tesla is on track to send a driverless car from Los Angeles to New York by the end of 2017.
Tech companies such as Google, Apple, Uber and Lyft are all in the running as major players in the race for driverless automobiles. Traditional car companies such as Toyota, Honda, Ford and BMW are all developing driverless technology as well.
Most of these companies are, or will be running pilot tests shortly. Many of them have a target date as soon as 2020 or 2021. While the technology is inevitable, there are still many questions this technology will pose.
The Impacted Industries
We tend to think about self-driving cars in terms of the standard automobile. While it will impact family and business travel, there are many industries that will be impacted as well.
Last October a Mercedes Benz big rig truck made history, driving itself down a public road. The technology is expected to be ready for general use by 2020. The U.S trucking industry carries 70 percent of America’s freight tonnage. Without the industry, and the 3.5 million truck drivers, the industry would come to a halt, according to the American Trucking Associations.
It’s predicted that the freight industry could save somewhere around $168 billion in labor costs by making the autonomous switch. While that’s great news for the companies, it’s not as good of news for truck drivers.
Trucking serves as the largest job market in 29 states. What will happen to those 3.5 million jobs remains a significant and valid question. There are other industries at play here as well, including waste removal, food delivery, and taxis.
A conversation about universal income comes with any number of political landmines. But as driverless cars and automation upend entire industries, it may be a necessary conversation.
The Ethical and Moral Implications
There is a wide range of ethical and moral questions that the general public, as well as those programming the technology will be forced to face.
When a drunk driver causes a fatal accident it is considered tragic. How are we going to react when a machine that we purchased causes a driver fatality, or causes an accident that kills someone else?
When a driverless car causes an accident, who is liable?
Should a vehicle be programmed to crash into something, to avoid other pedestrians, even if that means putting passengers at risk?
If car companies are legislated to prioritize pedestrians over passengers, will people be less likely to buy the car?
These are all valid questions with complicated answers. Human error accounts for around 90 percent of all accidents. Driverless cars will need to use the data collected by computers to make decisions before a potentially dangerous situation arises.
The Infrastructure
A lot of consideration has been given to the vehicles and the technology involved in going truly driverless. But the transition will also require infrastructure enhancements.
Consider road signs for a second. They are built large enough for a human to be able to see while traveling at speeds up to 80 miles per hour. Different vehicles may have different viewing angles, such as a semi rig and a sedan. The signs will likely need to communicate with the cars to make the driverless system work.
These and other driverless car infrastructure issues are being tackled in a 32-acre artificial town outside Detroit, called Mcity. Some significant changes to our infrastructure will likely need to be implemented before driverless cars become fully prevalent.
The Big Picture
I’m looking forward to being alone in a car cruising at 70 miles per hour with my nose in a book. Maybe I can use my commute times to get better at chess or catch up with work. The point is that time not spent driving is time spent doing something more valuable or intrinsic to our lives.
But with that freedom comes all the above implications and questions. Driverless cars are coming. It’s simply a question of how ready we will be.
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