Self Driving Cars, The Future Of Driving?

One topic which is gaining a lot of attention lately is how do we make our roads safer. It has been found that there have been a greater number of accidents occurring each year with the majority being caused by the driver, today we evaluate whether self-driving cars will help to lower the chances of driver mistakes and make our roads safer.

Positives Of Self Driving Cars

• 81% of accidents are due to driver error so having a computer take care of this would drastically take a lot of danger out of the equation and therefore lower this figure.
• A computer cannot be distracted therefore it will always be focusing on the task meaning its sole purpose would be to drive safely to a destination.
• Self-driving cars would save the driver time as they could focus on other tasks whilst they commuted.
• Disabled individuals, who have to rely on public transportation or assistance from others to get around, could reap the benefits of self-driving cars with new freedom and enhanced mobility.
• Drink driving incidents should decrease, because there’s no designated driver needed when the car drives itself which could save countless lives.
• Police officer focus could be shifted from writing traffic tickets and handling accidents to managing other, more serious crimes.

Negatives Of Self Driving Cars

• While the computer takes over once the vehicle is operational, the driver would still be required to maintain some knowledge about how to operate and maintain it safely.
• The very security behind self-driving cars would be a major obstacle, especially because the technology would be of very high interest to hackers.
• If other technology fails, such as traffic signals that the cars rely on, there’s no accounting for human traffic signals. In the event of an accident, for example, where a police officer is directing traffic, the cars cannot interpret human signals.
• The gasoline industry is likely to suffer because it’s likely that the self-driving cars would be electric.
• Driving instructors would lose money and go out of business because there would be less of a need to educate people how to drive.
• People who enjoy driving are unlikely to buy into the technology that means they no longer need to focus behind the wheel, so they are likely to keep their own vehicles rather than trading in for a self-driving vehicle.
• The success of self-driving cars currently relies on accurate mapping systems through GPS. As anyone who has been advised to turn down a one-way street or been told by their GPS they were driving on a non-existent street can attest, GPS devices are not always accurate.

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How do you feel about not driving? Do you agree self-driving cars are the future? Would you purchase one? Be sure to head over to social media and let us know@connect_insure on Twitter and @cibltd on Facebook.