Should Self-Driving Cars be Legal?

Car manufacturers have been trying to work on self-driving technology in cars since cars first came about. Thanks to modern technology, self-driving cars are now in existence. Most cars released in 2016 or later are equipped with features such as cruise control, braking and steering radar and lane assist. Pictured is my car, a 2017 Toyota Corolla SE, and it comes with all the mentioned features. Although these features are helpful and take some driving responsibilities from the driver, the car is not completely in control. In 2009, Google began a self-driving car project. A self-driving car is a vehicle that can sense its surroundings and safely operate without human contact. Self-driving cars are not legal yet, but companies are testing them in cities such as Pittsburgh. These cars come with multiple pros, such as safety benefits. Drinking or texting while driving has become a major cause of car crashes, but self-driving cars can drive more safely thanks to their computerized systems and cameras. Manufacturers also want to produce electric self-driving cars which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption in transportation. The cars will not need all the safety equipment they have now like air bags since no one will be in them, so the cars will be much lighter and get better gas mileage.

There are negatives to self-driving cars and reasons they are still illegal. Elaine Herzberg was killed by a self-driving Uber SUV in Tempe, Arizona. Uber cooperated with police and pulled their self-driving cars from the United States and Canada. This accident gave self-driving cars a lot of bad press and some of the public turned against them. While self-driving cars could lower energy consumption if used correctly, they could also drastically increase green gas house emissions and energy consumption. It depends on whether manufacturers make all cars electric or not. Another downfall is they are less efficient than public transportation because they cost more and cannot hold as many passengers. People trust public transportation with human drivers significantly more than self-driving cars. Typically people do not like change, and this would be a huge one, so it will take a long time for people to begin using self-driving cars if they do become legal. Self-driving cars will also cause about four million professional drivers to lose their jobs. These are the main reasons as to why more of the public is against self-driving cars than in favor of them, and why they are still illegal.

Although there are consequential pros and cons of driverless cars, we are not very close to legalizing them. Even with advanced technology they still have too many technical difficulties to send them onto the road without a "driver" who can control the car when needed. Driverless cars will be in the testing stage for years to gather more data and receive more improvements before a decision is made. They are on the right track to become legal, it will just take time.