The Promise and Peril of Self-Driving Cars

One of the most amazing and innovative prose of technology is the creation of self-driving cars, which is projected as a safe and efficient way of moving from one point to another in a safer condition that gives commuters an opportunity to delve into something else while their car takes them from point A to point B. One of the many criteria why many believe self-driving cars are the ultimate way of transportation isn't just because they're innovative and hands-free, but also because they remove the risk of human errors that lead to accidents and the like. But is a self-driving car entirely safe? And paraventure it leads to an avoided accident, who should be held responsible?

To be honest, I'm a big lover of self-driving cars; in fact, I find it fascinating that cars can drive themselves from one point to another without needful human intervention. I've watched car reviews and even movies that show how this works, and I must say it's mind-blowing having a car that can drive me to my destination without my own input; such time can be invested in doing other necessary things along the way to work, home, or wherever my destination is. And the good thing is that we've been told that these self-driving cars are made with high intelligence that helps them maneuver their way around the road without getting involved in an accident, and that's down to the various cameras attached to the cars and the artificial intelligence that helps the car calculate different possibilities from what it sees around it.

In all honesty, the features of self-driving cars sound promising and enticing, but then we all know not all cars on the road are self-driving. Why would they think like one another and quickly take reasonable steps to avoid accidents? Especially in countries like mine, where we have many crazy drivers on the street, I believe it's quite possible for a fellow human to predict what the next driver would do than for a self-driving car to do that, and in that situation this could lead to an accident that could have been easily avoided. Another is the possibility of such car systems unexpectedly malfunctioning during operation; in that situation, the car will definitely lose control, and in the situation where one can't take control, you'll be left to witness or become a victim of accidents you could have easily avoided, given the fact that the door would most likely not open due to the safe measures that would have been built in to prevent the door from opening while the car is moving.

Talking about who should take the fall is the advent that a self-driving car gets involved in an accident between the owner of the car, the manufacturer of the car, or the car itself. Obviously the car can't be blamed because it's only a program that can break down at any time. And that leaves us with either the manufacturer or the car owner; to be honest, the car manufacturer should be blamed for whatever errors occur with the vehicle they produce because they should have been able to make it foolproof against any malfunctioning, be it in the powering of the car or the artificial intelligence that controls it. But then I think the car owner can be blamed if he happens to use the car in a country or state that doesn't legalize the usage of such cars.

All photos are taken and edited on canva.