You are 25, you have your own job, and you are living a pretty good life, but today, well today you are late. You are sweating and terrified. You put on your coat, shove a bite of toast and step out of the door. When opening your car, you remember that you forgot to do, probably the biggest project of your life. You step into the car and you take a deep breath and think to yourself, let’s do the project and drive at the same time. You guys might think, are you crazy? How are you going to drive and do your project!? What if the car drove itself? That is what I present to you guys the self-driving car. The self-driving car is a vehicle that is capable of sensing its environment and moving with little or no human input. I will be talking about why self-driving is safer, more efficient, you can save a lot of money compared to a normal car, and also why jobs are not lost due to these types of cars.
Safety has been a big concern in the car industry for several years. Human errors have been a major cause of accidents and deaths. According to Asirt, 1.3 million Road deaths occur each year in Canada. If just 10% of people drove a self-driving car, almost a quarter million lives would be saved each year. Self-driving cars are also equipped with several cameras and systems, meaning that is will have quicker reaction times than humans. This will reduce accident rates. Distraction and drunk driving, has also been a crucial cause of accidents in Canada and America. In 2018, 482000 injuries or deaths were caused by distraction or drunk driving. Self- driving cars do no’t have the ability to be drunk, meaning there is more assurance of other people’s lives. Just think of the number of lives that can be saved, don’t you want that to happen?
Cars have been known for their efficiency to travel faster in a short period of time. But, productivity has been a big problem when in traffic. According to the Telegraph, a person spends 32 hours on average in traffic yearly. In that time, there are several things that can be done. In a Self- Driving car, humans can use their time in the car doing something that is more productive. According to Boston Chronicle, every 15 minutes you idle on the road, you're burning about $4 worth of gas. As self-driving cars reduce the traffic on the roads, these cars would be more efficient on the road and reduce the amount of money that is wasted. These cars also reduce a lot of emissions. According to Azocleantech, autonomous vehicles enable more efficient driving patterns. Due to the reason that self-driving cars reduce human interaction, braking and acceleration would allow vehicles to go closer to each other. This has improved the vehicle's aerodynamics. Multitasking in driving has also been a big problem for families. According to 150 stats Canada, an average family has 2 cars. This is due to the fact that families need to do several tasks at a time. One member of the family might need to go to work and also have a person who drops his/her child. Self-driving cars can drop one family member who works and also drop the other child. This will not waste 2 members of the family’s time. This is why self-driving cars are more efficient.
Money is something we care for when looking for cars. The newer models of cars now cost just under $35000. This is very expensive when you compare to an older model. As self- driving cars are developing, the prices of these cars are very high. Fully autonomous vehicles are estimated at around $100,000. This may seem like an incredible budget, but they will definitely lower in the coming years. Tasha Keeny, a self-driving car analyst say that the cost of autonomous vehicles will be within $10000. This may surprise you, as $10000 is a lot more affordable than $100000. When really thinking about it, it actually isn’t that surprising. According to Chron.com, in 1999, the cost of a new car was $57000. Now, a new car costs $35000. Due to the major decrease in money, many car companies believe that the price will decrease majorly. Why you might ask? When the first phone came out, we were shocked, you can call, and even access the internet. Now, when a new phone comes out, we just think it’s like the last model. During that time, it was hard for people to design devices, as at that time it was something brand new. As we know more about technology now, using our basic knowledge, we can improve. Waymo, a car company, predicts that the price of these vehicles will be just $5000 by 2025. This is why money isn’t a problem when it comes to self-driving cars.
