We're not ready for driverless technology

For the past century, cars have had a continuing impact in shaping American lives. Ever since people started to come up with ways to take people from one place to another, cars have coincided with progress and development.

One hundred years ago, it was the horseless carriage. Today, it is the driverless car. Scientists envision a safer world with driverless cars, and engineers are already planning futuristic cities where individual vehicle ownership becomes obsolete.

Although autonomous vehicles could be beneficial to society, car companies are prematurely pushing the possibilities of driverless technology. All of them are trying to be the first company in the driverless car market. It might seem that it would be best if car companies paved the way for driverless cars. However, these companies are focused on ambitious financial goals. As a result, the U.S. is rushing to embrace a technology that is not ready.

The major drawback to the current cars we so heavily rely on are the dangers they bring. Car accidents kill more than 30,000 Americans every year. The National Highway Safety Administration estimates more than 90 percent of car accidents are caused by human error. With human error virtually eliminated with driverless vehicles, the world would be a safer place.

Of course, this significant societal benefit only comes to fruition if everyone chooses to use autonomous vehicles. Realistically, consumers are hesitant to use them. According to a recent study from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, half of the participants researchers contacted for a survey would never purchase a car that completely drives itself.

If a significant portion of the driving population refuses to use driverless cars, human error will continue to be a part of driving, leaving the primary purpose of even developing driverless technology as nothing more than a gross exaggeration of what’s possible.

Another problem is car companies overselling the capabilities of their driverless technology, giving drivers a false sense of safety. Most brands on today’s market are at level 2 automation. That means cars can drive themselves on highways, but drivers must be able to take over at any time. Under this impractical assumption that passengers will be attentive of the roadway even though they are not driving, car companies are not designing driverless cars to the level consumers look to use them.

Now, many may think they can avoid this technology by simply choosing not to purchase driverless cars nor use services with autonomous vehicles. However, Congress has recently proposed legislation that yields a legitimate cause for concern. The proposed American Vision For Safer Transportation through Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies (AV START) Act would lower safety standards and liability for driverless car companies. It is a trade-off of safety for the hopes of major advancements in autonomous vehicle technology. Nevertheless, in just the past two weeks, a pedestrian was struck in Arizona by an Uber autonomous vehicle and a driver was killed in California while using the autopilot feature in a Tesla. The government would be unjustifiably asking every American to assume more risk when using roads as car companies tinker with unproven technology.

Instead of developing full-fledged autonomous vehicles, car companies should focus on driver-assist technology. Lane departure warning and blind spot detection systems are already reducing the number of accidents that occur on the road. The Institute for Highway Safety calculated lane departure warning systems reduced injuries from sideswipe and head-on collisions by 20 percent in 2016. People make mistakes, but don’t take people out of the driver seat. Driver-assist technology can prevent accidents caused by human error without the over reliance on the technology itself.

In an ideal world, driverless cars would save lives. In reality, car companies are currently pushing autonomous vehicles on consumers that don’t want them, and the government is looking to dissolve safeguards that would protect users of the road while this technology develops. Driverless technology may be beneficial one day, but not today, nor in the near future.

Joshua Udvardy is a UF environmental engineering junior. His column focuses on science.