Self Driving Cars - Argumentative Essay M.R. Scanlon (with partner)
You're driving through downtown NYC in an old 2013 Nissan Sentra when out of nowhere a car from your right t-bones you. You, just trying to get to work, had been looking at your phone, texting your boss about your late arrival. The car that had hit you, ran a red light. Neither of you are seriously injured, but when you talk to the person who hit you, you realize they're obviously very drunk. Now, skip toward what only has to be 4 years from now, and you're cruising through a brightly colored, full of green, beautiful New York at a consistent 25 miles an hours in your new 2025 Tesla Sedan. You have the chance to stare wondrously at the innovatively structured gardens and curious sculptures as your hands don't even touch the wheel. You come to a slow stop and you look up to see an old Nissan Sentra blazing by only 20 feet in front of you, where you would've been if not for your new car's sensory enhancements. This fantasy of what life could be - peaceful, green, and safe - doesn't have to be a fantasy anymore. This could be our reality. The true fantasy is the idea that our world can survive with the problematic ways of transportation we've relied on for too long now. How? Well it's quite simple really. With proper testing and distribution, autonomous vehicles can better our society by eliminating human error, and creating a healthier environment.
Human Flaw Compared to Technological Advancement
To start off, we have to look at the big issue here. The main causes of car-crash fatality all lead back to one thing; human flaw. When looking at the facts, distracted and irresponsible driving make a sizable dent in the car-crash fatality rates. To elaborate, in the article The Promise of a Post-Driver Life, Edward Humes explains, "Bad driving is the primary cause of fatal car crashes, most of which are the result of driving too drunk, too fast, or too distracted... almost all crashes result from avoidable acts of negligence, recklessness, foolishness, or law braking," (Paragraphs 6-7). We can see through Humes' explanation and - quite frankly, just plain common sense - that whether you're under the influence or just arrogant, you become a threat to the people around you the moment you make the irresponsible choice of stepping into a vehicle you plan on controlling. Driving a car while under the influence and ignoring the fact that you've become seriously dangerous is completely avoidable. And just the same for stepping into a car completely fine and allowing yourself to become distracted or just disregard the law and the people in vehicles around you. Self-driving cars can be built to shut down if someone has been drinking, slow down if the car passes the designated speed limit, and even help eliminate the usage of non-voice-command operated cell-phones. In Humes' article he states, "Cruise-control... could be repurposed to prevent drivers from exceeding posted speed limits," and further, "Blood alcohol touch sensors... could end drunken driving for good by shutting off the car and automatically summoning a ride-share," and he continues with, "And smartphones... can be forced by an even smarter car into voice-command-only status," (Paragraphs 10-12). This shows that these countless lives being lost to foolish, reckless driving can easily be saved with autonomous vehicles being distributed where they need to be.
The Mindset of Environmental Benefit
To further this point, we look at this transition into autonomous transportation. At the point in society when autonomy is the new norm, the problems we're facing today with environmental health will have already been diminished by the technological enhancements needed to get to full autonomy. When we envision an autonomous world, we tend to avoid the difficult problems that we need to overcome in order to bring that beautiful world to life. But these issues - including global warming and air pollution - can be solved through the technology that will also bring us our self-driven society. In the article Will Self-Driving Vehicles Be Eco-Friendly by Environment.co.za, the author explains, "Fully autonomous cars will require no maneuvering on the driver's part. A steering wheel, gearbox, and pedals will be needless. Moreover, these cars will be completely safe... In such a safe environment the need for safety equipment such as strong glass, airbags, and heavy materials will drope," (Paragraph 6-7). As the author concludes, with this technology dropping the crash-rates significantly, the need for our most habitual materials will drop along with it. Wasteful materials we've come to rely on will - fortunately - be out of the picture. The other important factor to consider is that these cars will require no gasoline or fossil fuels. With all these potentially dangerous materials gone, the amount of pollution in the streets, in the water, and in the air will clear up almost completely. We tend to forget the fact that by eliminating the most basic necessities in our life it can make a world of difference, we just have to be open to change, and be willing to take the first step. Not even that but just imagining what could be. By having the mindset to think about what needs to be changed, a world of possibilities opens up to us. Now we look at the article The Plastic Pollution Problem: How Society Can Shift To Be Plastic-Free , written by Samantha Radocchia where she explains that, "91% of plastic going to waste, finding a solution to this pollution problem won't be easy. It's going to take a combination of behavioral change, simplified supply chains, and government and regulatory support...Right now, however, there just aren't incentives for companies to stop using plastic. In fact, it's very much the opposite—plastic is economical. So over the long run, brands, governments, and consumers need to align interests, creating incentives for manufacturers to use bioplastics and alternative packaging that isn't petroleum-based," (Paragraphs 6, 15). It starts with us. We are a creative people and we are an innovative people. That's where that idea to create self driving cars came along; we saw a problem and we strove to fix it. So, by aiming for safer and environment-friendly roads, we hit two birds with one stone. By looking into these problems, we not only hit transportation, but we also put society into the mindset of solving these problems in other areas.
