Journal
# 6
According to a research, traffic
accidents are the main reason why people from 4 to 34 get killed in USA, and 90
percent of these accidents are resulted by human error. There is no doubt that
this situation needs immediate and sufficient improvements, and automated
driving is one of the solutions. Self-driving vehicles, which is automatic
driving mainly about, is supposed to reduce accidents, enable people without
driving skills to get around, and reduce congestion, mentioned by Chris Urmson,
the head of engineering for Google’s Self Diving Car Project.
This idea is amazing, but it has a long way
to go. One problem which I can easily come up with is how those smart vehicles
deal with unexpected situations. An obvious truth that we all know is driving
is not only about the places from which you start and to which you go, it is also
about what happens during the trip. When anything abnormal happens, real people
can judge with their mind and make decisions. As for those microcomputers in
charge of the whole vehicle, I am pretty doubtful if they can do the same
thing. Furthermore, automated driving, the concept itself somewhat delivers a
message to drivers that it is the computer that is running the car, so they do
not have to pay as much attention on the road as they do when they are the one
who is actually driving. Texting and calling while driving are already serious
issues now, when cars are still driven by human beings. Is this going to be
worse if people can spend less or even no time on steering wheel? I think so.
Based on these considerations, I am not
supportive if my family or friends are going to drive these automated vehicles,
unless they promise me to be the real driver instead of a passenger on a
vehicle which is driven by a computer.
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