About a century ago, society predicted that people will be driving flying cars by the time 2020 comes. 2020 is right arund the corner and yet not a single car hovering above your house can be seen in sight. But what the innovators have come up instead is a self-driving car. Yes, a car that can take you from point A to point B without you stepping on the brakes or shifting the gears is now a possibility. But is it a good thing or a bad thing? Although Green Light Auto Inspections are not selling any self-driving cars soon, here are some pros and cons that we've gathered.
Self Driving Cars - The Future of Automobile?
Since it's been developed, self-driving cars are most likely to be the ones populating the roads in the near future. Imagine, by then you can start the car, input your destination, go back to sleep, and you've already arrived by the time you wake up. Although it's kind of quite an exaggeration, that's not far from becoming a possibility. Automobile manufacturers such as Volvo, BMW, and Tesla have already taken steps forward by creating the self-assisted parking technology. But it's Google that created the first successful self-driving car - Waymo - that drove 2 million miles without any accidents.
But just like any other innovations, self-driving cars are being questioned by both critics and technology experts. One of the biggest problems they see is that this technology might expose people to a ton of safety threats and concerns. Another people think that having this kind of car puts people at privacy and remote control threats. But we will discuss these issues further in a bit.
Pros
The debate of whether we should step to this kind of technology or not still continues. But here are what the car manufacturers have come up for the benefits of driving a driver-less automobile:
Improved Safety on Road - Not to be left defenseless, car manufacturers stated the self-driving cars can actually do good more than harm. If anything, road accidents will be even prevented when people use this kind of technology. According to the Coalition for Future Mobility, data from the government states that virtually all car crashes are due to the behavior of the driver. Self driving cars may also reduce car accidents by preventing impaired and/or drugged driving, speeding, and distraction while driving among others.
More Time for Productivity - Since you're not going to focus driving, you'd be able to take your time and attention to do something else while inside the car. You can take and make important calls, you can finish that work report while on your way, or you can even just take a rest or go watch a movie. And since it's self-parking, you'd be able to get out of the car in your destination without spending too much time looking for a parking lot.
More People Can Travel - With self driving cars, anyone can drive on their own - including people with disabilities. With HAVs, blind people can able to travel by themselves. Even seniors will not need help with transporting.
Faster Travel Time - When HAVs drive down the road, they know how to navigate and sense other cars around them. That means bumper to bumper situation will no longer exsit in the future. Aside from that, the car automatically brakes at a safe distance from other cars. When all people will use HAVs in the future, the smoother the drive is going to be.
Environment Friendly - Car manufacturers make most, if not all, their HAVs electric as they try to make newer automotive techs environment-friendly. By using electricy-run engines, there will be less combustion and, as a result - less carbon emissions. And since there will be a stable speed followed, there's no need to use the brakes and accelerators that much.
Cons
Now this is the part where the concerns are listed. Below are four of the major cons of transitioning to self-driving cars from standard, manually-driven ones.
Accidents Happen. More Frequently - Though the promise of a smoother drive may sound nice, that only applies if everyone drives an HAV. But if a driver-less car tries to integrate to roads wherein people still drive a manual one, it might cause chaos. And currently, American roads are not yet HAV-friendly. In addition, HAVs are not yet programmed to drive during extreme weather conditions.
Hacking Issues - HAVs pretty much rely on Internet connection to know where it's going. And with your car being online most of the time, it's going to be susceptible to being hacked. And when hackers can get inside your car's software, there's a fat chance that the hacker can control your car. Other hacking issues include privacy breach and even computer viruses
Radiation - Self-driving cars are pretty much like a computer that can drive. And with all the GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi and other components that come with it, you're pretty much exposed to electromagnetic radiations. Being exposed to such frequently is believed to cause serious health problems in the future such as high bloof pressure, chronic migraine, and amnesia to name a few.
So now that you know the pros and cons of self-driving cars, what do you think about having one in the not so distant future? Let us know. In the meantime, pre-used cars are still a hot commodity for those who want to have a car but at a fraction of the cost of having a new one. Click on the link to see an array of car makes and models available.