Imagine a world without traffic accidents. Millions of lives would be saved and millions more would avoid injury. Our productivity would skyrocket, and we could text and call to our heart's content because rather than driving ourselves, a computer would guide our elegantly crafted heap of sheet metal to our destination.
All of this is not feasible — at least not right now. Here are four reasons why you should reconsider the current state of autonomous car technology.
1. The Road to Autonomy is Not Straight.
Don't get your hopes up — we are still a long ways away from everybody safely power napping in the driver's seat. Although the energy, development, and intent are present to turn these technologies into reality, there are several legal and ethical barriers that are preventing autonomous vehicles from truly flourishing nationwide.
While the folks at Tesla and Volvo are pioneering the field and other mainstream brands have hopped on the bandwagon, cities like New York have taken measures to slow the proliferation of driverless cars until they become more reliable. Every few months, we hear of another Tesla driver getting into an accident because they trusted the car to do the right thing. Whether or not these accidents were the car's fault, this shows that there are flaws in the technology and perhaps too much trust from the user.
2. Where Will the Truck Drivers Go?
There are approximately 3.5 million truck drivers in the United States alone. The advent of autonomous vehicles means certain doom to many of these blue collar Americans, but how swift and widespread this shift will be is presently unknown. While I am all for technological innovation, it is also necessary to remember that no matter how altruistic our intentions are, growth is not possible without destruction. Basic economics dictates that these people will find another job, but reality shows that a significant investment is required to retrain these soon-to-be-unemployed workers to help them find another job.
3. Cars are getting fun again!
Over the last decade or so, many automotive journalists have been complaining about how numb cars have become. In the heart of the recession, this was probably because companies were trying to maximize their revenue by cheapening their products to save on cost. On the other hand, this same technology also allowed for greater fuel efficiency and general appeal.
Now that much of that technology has been mastered and the global economy has vastly improved, the folks at companies like Mazda and Honda have begun to repopulate their lineups with several increasingly engaging, entertaining and technologically rich cars. No longer do we have to choose between appliances that take us from Point A to Point B - we can choose cars with character!
4. Want to live in the moment? DRIVE!
In a time where we are constantly falling into the "Busy Trap," there has been an increasing push to take a step back and refocus. While an autonomous car would allow us to pay attention on tasks other than driving, so many of us love driving because it forces us to step out of our stresses and live in the moment. Driving can be a deep mental breath and an escape from our daily lives. Instead of stressing about our next big assignment, we focus on dancing with our speed machine.
A car is something we can control physically and mentally, and bombing down a twisty road is like therapy. That is why cars are so much more than just a vehicle for so many of us.
