Automated Accidents
The debate whether self driving cars are safe enough on the streets and if they should or should not be legalized is not heard too often. However, that does not mean it is not nearly important as other more popular topics but self driving cars have not been completely developed as they are still being worked on. Some have not been released to the public but there are some functions similar to self driving that have been released to the public such as auto parking and lane assists.
Auto Insurance Center claims that there are even many accidents from regular cars “Fatalities from traffic incidents happen on an annual basis upwards of 33,000 people.” Based on a research done for just the U.S in 2014 and they also stated that “Many of these accidents are preventable, and an alarming number of them are a result of distracted driving.” It may be able to be prevented by self driving cars but they can also cause incidents due to malfunctioning when the driver is not prepared to manually take over.
“The vehicles simply cannot deal with the unexpected adventures that fill everyday life. Until the cars can self-drive at all times, humans are going to have to be ready to take over at a moment's notice.”
Even though it is not common, Google’s self driving car has gotten into a few accidents as well as some Tesla Model S owners but that does not compare to a death due to a car and even the driver failing to recognize an oncoming truck. Tesla even admits that there was a malfunction with the autopilot and are definitely attempting to solve the problem in order to prevent further events such as death to occur
Currently, autopilot modes and lane assists exist but they do not function as good as completely self driving cars. Tesla is aware of the mistakes and are currently developing an “Autopilot 2.0” and is expected to be released out to the public soon.
“It allows for prolonged driver assistance, adding a feeling of relaxed security on long road trips, and it helps take some the drudgery out of stop-and-go traffic. Still, this is not a true self-driving car, and the system is far from perfect. Most importantly, the driver still needs to pay attention and hold on to the steering wheel.”
A survey was conducted at Coleytown middle school by a select group of 8th graders. Google was the most popular for a responsible self driving car developer. The most common reason was because they have a lot of knowledge as well as experience in developing.
Kyle Dahlke says “Because they’re high end car companies that make good quality cars, and I have heard news of some of these companies working on this project already.” Ty Chung believes that Tesla and Google are the most reliable for making self driving cars because they're well known and already have reliable self driving technology.
At first, the self driving car seems harmless but then even after the slightest bit of research, it can be discovered that leading companies such as google and Tesla are farther behind in development compared to the progress they are trying to make us think. Sometimes, even the companies themselves believe they have achieved more progress than they actually have which is a key detail to why they are failing.