2 Really Good Reasons You Should Be Excited About Autonomous Cars
Neither reason is because you are too lazy to drive
You’ve been hearing about the rise of autonomous cars for a while. Each year you think it’s finally time and yet, they’re still not quite here.
Obviously, there are a lot of precautions which need to be taken and technology which takes time to develop.
But, the truth is, we are almost there.
Now, most people get excited at the thought of not having to drive anymore. The joy of being able to text and “drive”.
I have 2 much better reasons you should be excited about the arrival of autonomous cars.
1. Saving lives
According to WHO (World Health Organization), over 1.1 million people die in road traffic crashes.
How many of those accidents do you think were preventable?
Autonomous cars break driving down to a science.
Literally.
They can see things humans can’t, react faster than a human ever could and consider many more factors in a split second than a human could dream of doing. Because of these (and many other) reasons, autonomous cars will prevent a lot of accidents.
Even if not all cars are autonomous, lives will be saved.
But, it is when every car becomes autonomous that the real magic will begin to happen. The cars will all be thinking and driving in a similar way making predicting what to do a lot easier.
And if we are smart, we will regulate them in a way that makes them safe, while still allowing room for innovation.
If they are only 1% safer, 100,000 lives will be saved each year. However, many people believe autonomous cars will result in 90%+ less car accidents.
They may save a million lives.
Now, that’s worth being excited about.
Think of the elderly who cannot react as well as they once could. They could get in a car freely and go where they want safely as they please.
Or, think of your friends who aren’t as good at driving… Yes, them too. They could also get around safely!
Are you as excited as I am?
2. Traffic (saving time)
Saving time driving is a reason fewer people consider. Maybe that is because we tend to think of ourselves as better drivers or maybe it’s just something that passes over our heads.
But, without a doubt, if every car was autonomous, there would be much less traffic.
Let me give you an example.
Think of every time you are behind a car at a green light and they don’t go because they’re texting. Even if they’re slightly distracted and take 3 more seconds, that time adds up.
If a light cycle takes 2 minutes and each cycle has a 3-second delay from distracted drivers, this results in 90 seconds of delay each hour.
But, it gets worse when you consider that each delay results in fewer cars getting through the light.
Fewer cars moving means more cars back up, preventing turn-offs and allowing the possibility for more distractions, etc.
The traffic compounds.
Now, consider how many lights there are in a city. These few-second delays often result in grid-lock traffic.
Okay, let’s imagine the dream scenario now.
Every car is autonomous.
Cars react perfectly to the green lights, they go as fast as they are legally allowed and will maximize how many get through each cycle of lights.
Distracted drivers won’t delay the cars, old age or bad reactions won’t delay the cars, and people braking too early won’t delay the cars.
On top of that, your car will automatically pick alternate routes if traffic ever does occur.
Just think of how much traffic will reduce throughout the day!
Oh, and the cars will know how to zipper merge!
Think of what you can do with this time saved.
In some cities, you may only save 3 minutes in a car ride, but in a city like LA, you’d save an incredible amount of time.
Saving 10 minutes a day on the road means saving 60 hours a year (or 2.5 days).
Saving 30 minutes a day on the would result in your saving 7.5 days a year. That’s enough time to go on a Caribbean getaway.
I don’t know about you, but this kind of saved time excites me!
Closing thoughts
There are many other reasons to be excited about autonomous cars.
Robo-taxis
Saving money
Environmental benefits
Reduced need for parking
Ability to work in the car (more productive)
These are all good reasons to be excited!
Autonomous cars will be one of the greatest technological innovations we’ve ever seen and will have a huge impact on every single one of us.
What excites you the most about autonomous cars?
Thanks for reading