Self-Driving Cars

Self-driving cars. They look sleek and are full of luxurious features. They get great gas mileage, are full of convenience, and are safe. But are they ready for mass production to be the majority of vehicles on the road? The possibilities seem endless, but they do have their limits.

Self-driving cars are transforming transportation by using sensors and software to drive themselves. While they may have potential benefits, the current situation raises concerns. Self-driving cars promise to revolutionize transportation and enhance safety, but the consistent involvement of these vehicles in accidents raises significant concern about their reliability and safety, which would tarnish the Public’s trust in autonomous technology.

There are many videos and photos, and articles about self-driving vehicles getting into accidents, hitting people. People are being stuck inside of them while they drive around in circles due to GPS malfunctions or sensors failing. Anyone can go on YouTube, TikTok, and find hundreds of videos of these incidents, and even in the news. Would these mishaps have happened if someone was behind the wheel as a safety precaution instead of being stuck in the back seat doing loops in the parking lot?

The use of sensors and AI to navigate is promoted as making the roads safer and more efficient. However, they still face challenges like handling complex situations. Using advanced driving technologies brings benefits but also has its risks. Drivers may rely too much on features like adaptive cruise control, leading to complacency and making it easier to get distracted. Car makers should create systems that keep drivers engaged and educate them on the technology and its limits, to ensure road safety. Balancing innovation and caution is essential.

Self-driving cars navigate the highways well but struggle with sudden changes in cities, especially crowded ones. The cars stop at traffic lights; however, they may need help from people when the road signs are unclear. Testing shows they rely on good conditions and often need human drivers.

In conclusion careful adaptation of this technology is vital for safety and benefit we must balance its positives with potential risks for successful integration into our life we can see this when they do a study at the University of Michigan which found that almost 60% of people would text in self-driving cars which can lead to carelessness in 2018 an incident occurred involving a self-driving vehicle operated by Uber, resulting in a fatality of a pedestrian due to the fact the safety driver was not adequately attentive also as of January 17th 2025 the department of motor vehicle has received $781 a tall minivus vehicle collision reports another fact is when there have been 83 fatalities related to autonomous vehicle accidents as of June 17th 2024. Some people have strong opinions and questions about all the technology that we are creating. I believe that the safest way to integrate this technology into our own lives is to educate ourselves as much as possible before making any decisions on purchasing and bringing it into our everyday lives. Do your research, talk to credible sources, and maybe even try one out yourself before actually making the purchase. I don’t believe that the issues they are having with these autonomous vehicles will continue. I believe that because of the technology we have created and the research that goes into every one of these autonomous vehicles, that someday they will be safe enough for everyone to own and operate, and then will be ready to be the majority vehicle on the road.

“Nuvit’s Car crash – 1” by Kel Patolog is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.