Computers Doing the Driving

In some ways, computers make ideal drivers: They don't drink and then climb behind the wheel. They don't do drugs, get distracted, fall asleep, run red lights or tailgate. And their reaction times are quicker. Currently, with all the added software development that is added to the car's cost, the price of these self driving cars is a bit over $100K. In several years though, large scale production will greatly decrease the costs. Nevertheless, the advantages of self-driving cars are such that if only 10 percent of cars and trucks on the road were self-driving, they could reduce traffic deaths by 1,000 per year and produce nearly $38 billion in economic and other savings, said the study by the Eno Center for Transportation, a foundation dedicated to improving transportation. Some of the things to consider before jumping up and down at the idea of self driving cars is that since there will be a computer on-board, it means that there will be an ability to hack it. Also, there would need to be major regulation as far as manufacturing these computers go to ensure that there are no computer errors being made and the code is good.