How long will it take before autonomous cars are a mainstream part of driving on the roads? I’ve got my book ready, a couple of movies and even scheduled a nap on the long drive from my house to my vacation spot, but it seems I may need to wait a while before this will be the way I can ride in my own autonomous vehicle. As many questions that have been answered regarding self-driving vehicles, others have come up and we still aren’t sure what the answers are going to be and what will be needed.
If you ask automakers, the research is being actively tested and some expect to put an autonomous car on the roads in the next couple years, but most aren’t going to be driverless for many more years. During this test phase, we’re being told the cars that can drive themselves are going to be safer and help cut down on congestion on the roadways, but there isn’t any solid proof of that just yet. While some companies have logged many thousands of miles on the road, that’s nothing compared to the billions of miles that we drive around this country each year.
In addition to the questions surrounding whether or not a company can actually build a vehicle that has no pedals and no steering wheel, a claim made by Ford not too long ago, and still maintain safety, the liability concerns are vast as well. The question of who will get a ticket if the car is driving itself isn’t as concerning as trying to figure out whether the company that controls the system will be liable for an accident or the owner of the vehicle. Currently, the owner is still liable because all systems are semi-autonomous, but with a fully autonomous system, the liability question continues to come up.
Another concern is security and reliability of the systems in the vehicle. We’ve all experienced recalls and breakdowns of the mechanical aspects of our vehicle which have to be taken in for a repair, but with a fully autonomous vehicle, this will need to be avoided. If we’re putting our lives in the hands of the car and the company that operates the system we don’t want to have any chance of a breakdown at all. This could be a serious problem for the future.
Of course, the ownership question comes up as well. Would you be more likely to purchase a vehicle or simply subscribe to a taxi-style service that allows you to have a ride when you need it? The lack of purchases could cause car companies to build more fleet machines and fewer personally owned vehicles in the future, which would also signal a shift in the automotive insurance world.
There are many more questions that need to be answered and it seems that every time we answer one question regarding autonomous vehicles, five more are brought up. We are still several years from having all models on the roads be autonomous, and we probably aren’t as close to this becoming a public reality as some automakers would like us to think, but this will be the future of driving, eventually.
Looking for a fuel-efficient, reliable vehicle that’s available now (and isn’t autonomous)? Opt for the Ford Focus, a sedan that has the technology and comfort to impress.
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