An Uber car equipped with self-driving technology collects data on the streets of Washington, D.C.

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Are Driverless Cars a Good Idea?

Are we on the cusp of the era of the driverless car? Many companies seem to think so. All new Teslas come with autopilot features that can be upgraded in the future into driverless technology. General Motors has unveiled plans for a six-passenger driverless car. In collaboration with a Chinese startup company, U.S. automaker Fiat Chrysler plans to put robot-taxis on roads in China later this year. Ford and Volkswagen have joined forces to work on driverless car technology. And two years after an Uber driverless car struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona, the ride-sharing company has received a permit to resume testing in California. An advocate for using autonomous vehicles to reduce emissions and a transportation safety expert square off about the future of driverless cars.

Americans love their cars. The typical household owns at least two and spends more on vehicles than on any other expense besides housing. Except for in a few densely populated cities, Americans must drive if they want to get to work or school, go shopping, or see friends.

But dependence on driving has a number of negative consequences. Transportation now contributes more to climate change than any other part of the U.S. economy. By reducing road congestion and driving more efficiently, driverless cars will reduce emissions. Most communities are built around driving, which makes it harder for individuals with disabilities, older Americans who can no longer drive safely, and those who can’t afford cars to get to where they want to go. Self-driving cars will improve mobility for those who can’t drive themselves.

Most important, driving on our roads today needs to be much safer. In 2018, more than 36,500 people died in crashes in the U.S., according to federal data. That’s more than 100 per day; the status quo is unacceptable.

Self-driving cars offer the promise of a safer, more efficient transportation system.

About half of crashes happen because of drunk driving, distracted driving, and speeding. Self-driving cars, which use sensors that see all around and don’t get distracted, eliminate all three of these risk factors. Even better, most self-driving cars are electric, so they don’t generate emissions that are harmful to the climate. And driverless cars will likely be used in services where people can share rides, further contributing to our ability to use less oil and to lower carbon emissions.

Self-driving cars offer the promise of a safer, more efficient, and more accessible transportation system. Over the past decade, companies like Google and Aptiv have poured billions into making self-driving cars a reality. While it will take years of further development before they’re part of everyday life for most Americans, self-driving cars are starting to serve riders in limited areas. Self-driving cars represent a chance to rebuild the American transportation system and improve life for millions of our citizens.

 

—AMITAI BIN-NUN

VP of Autonomous Vehicles, Securing America’s Future Energy

Jeff Koterba/PoliticalCartoons.com

Driverless cars sound like a good idea. After all, who wouldn’t love the idea of using technology to boost efficiency and improve safety? If only it were that simple.

The reality is that driverless does not mean humanless. Software and sensors may curb the need for human skill but seldom (if ever) purge that need entirely. The reason? Machines are imperfect. They err much like humans do. The impact of these faults is trivial when we’re talking about machines that flip burgers, pick fruit, or pour drinks breaking down. But when machines are carrying out tasks that put lives at stake, the results of errors can be deadly.

Take the airplane autopilot. First introduced in 1912, the system is designed to automatically balance an airplane so human pilots don’t have to. The result is a smoother, safer ride for passengers. But autopilot can fail to work properly, and that raises serious safety concerns. In 1985, a jumbo jet nearly crashed after the autopilot failed to inform the crew about an imminent safety risk. The airplane went into a high-speed dive before human pilots were able to intervene and avert disaster. Incidents like this are why, to this day, autopilot use still requires the human touch. We know that for all their virtues, machines can’t be trusted to get it right all the time, every time. Driverless cars are no different.

When machines are carrying out tasks that put lives at stake, the results of errors can be deadly.

In fact, we have already seen how deadly self-driving vehicles can be. In 2016, a 40-year-old man was killed when his car—powered by driverless algorithms—ran into the side of a truck in broad daylight. An investigation found that the car’s cameras had failed to spot the truck (colored white) against the bright sky. In 2018, a 49-year-old woman was struck and killed by a vehicle also using driverless technology. Government investigators blamed her death, in part, on the inability of algorithms to predict pedestrian behavior.

Unless the technology behind driverless cars is proven faultless (which it isn’t), entrusting them with control over our lives isn’t just unlikely but also irresponsible.

 

—ASHLEY NUNES

Transportation safety researcher, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Continue the Learning Journey

  • After reading the driverless car debate, listen to Intelligence Squared’s discussion about it to learn more about the pros and cons of autonomous vehicles and whether Americans are ready for them. Then decide which side you come down on and write a short essay defending your position for or against driverless cars.
  • Go deeper: Where are driverless cars already on the roads in the U.S.? Visit the National Conference of State Legislature’s hub about driverless car laws to learn which states permit driverless cars and what restrictions they impose. Create a map showing the results of your research, and summarize your key findings.
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