Disadvantages Of Driving Vehicles Essay

1004 Words5 Pages

2. Benefits and costs

2.a. Reduction of stress and productivity increase

Allowing cars the autonomy to drive around and plan traffic routes reduces the effort of the human driver, if not completely eliminating it (in the case of Level 5 vehicles). The elimination of the usual agitation and constant attention to driving environment, especially during rush hour traffic, leaves passengers with more time to spend on other activities. Considering that the average time for commute in urban areas is 27.5 minutes, a lot of time can be saved and used for other purposes[2]. They will be able to take time to eat breakfast, check emails and even take a nap in the comforts of their vehicle, and in the process make their lifestyle more productive. However, self-driving vehicles may introduce “access anxiety” among those who are wary of these vehicles; a fear and a lack of confidence that their vehicles would not reach their intended destination.

Figure 2: Increased vehicle autonomy will afford more time for …show more content…

This is however an optimistic outlook and assumes that the technology is failsafe[1]. System failures involving hardware (sensors and other components) and software (programming flaws and unauthorised access (hacking)) have the potential to cause a crash considering that such vehicles are heavily dependent on technology[1]. An attitude of blind confidence in the technology can cause relaxation of safety measures such as dorning safety belts on a personal level increasing the chances of injury in case of a crash[1]. The chances of accidents are forecasted to be higher when autonomous and human driven vehicles are driven together in traffic[1]. The introduction of more autonomous vehicles in existing fleet may only increase the number of accidents by sheer exposure to opportunities for