Will Automated Cars Cause More Miami Car Accidents or Fewer Traffic Accidents?
Tuesday, December 11th, 2012This year, California introduced a law that allows cars that that can drive without driver input to be tested on the California’s highways. There is a great deal of interest in the cars, which use a range of sensors as well as cameras and computer programs to drive in a variety of conditions with no input from the driver. Advocates of the cars say that the cars will even allow the visually impaired to drive since the cars will do all the “seeing” for the driver.
Advocates also claim that the cars will reduce car accidents since the sensors and programs can respond much more quickly than human drivers and are not prone to human error. Some even believe that the cars will take care of the problem of distracted driving, since owners will be able to text and engage in other activities while the car drives for them. However, will the new cars eventually reduce the risk of Miami traffic accidents – or contribute to the city’s accident rates?
Developers of the cars, which include Google technology, say that the cars have been tested for years now and the only accident in 300,000 miles of road tests was a minor rear-end crash that could be prevented in the future by installing heat-seeking technology in the trunk to detect approaching cars.
Critics weigh in
Critics of the cars are skeptical, noting that technology is imperfect and since computers and computer programs develop glitches or crash unexpectedly, the risks with a car fueled with this type of technology could be significant. After all, computers crash regularly and software is known for developing bugs and other problems that create crashes on personal computers. Drivers in an automated car are actually encouraged not to watch the road and may not notice a problem in time to stop a Miami car accident. Manufacturers of driverless cars have pointed out that the test cars in use have hundreds of thousands of kilometers of error-free driving on record.
Some critics also point out that if the cars become widespread they could put many professions, including car mechanics and traffic police, out of work. The financial impact of this could be significant. Manufacturers of driverless cars point out that driverless cars could actually make police and law enforcement authorities more effective, as time would be freed up to pursue other cases.
Cars raise questions about safety
In addition, the possibility of driverless cars raises the question of driver training and education. Will these cars allow the driving age to be lowered? How will drivers be tested to ensure that they safely drive a car that does not require their interaction? Currently, most states do not have laws about driverless cars and do not permit these cars on the road. However, since manufacturers of driverless cars claim that even blind drivers would be able to drive the vehicles, it raises questions about how drivers would be evaluated for safety. In addition, there are some questions about how roads could safely be shared between driverless cars and traditional cars. Would sharing the road lead to more Miami truck accidents and car accidents?