Brandon Patz

English 102

Professor Newport

4/12/2017
Autonomous Vehicles: The future of Automotive Transportation

Ever since Henry Ford released the Ford Model T to the public in 1908, we have changed

the way cars are used today. Today we have changed the car industry immensely, we now can

drive cars well over two-hundred miles per hour, and have created cars that are very fuel

efficient, and have cars that dont even run off of gas. However, since the rise of the internet and

computer power, we want a car to be even better, a car that can drive it self. The idea of a car

driving itself has been around for quite some time, and now it's becoming more of a popular

thing Even though there is the possibility of a malfunction, Self driving cars, or Autonomous

cars are the future of human transportation because it will reduce traffic significantly as well as

decrease if not eliminate accidents caused by human error.

Autonomous cars, they are vehicles that do not need a human driver to operate. All they

need is instructions on where to go. An example of the word Autonomous is like having a coffee

maker in your house. You give it the materials it needs to operate and then all by itself it creates

the coffee that you so desire. Its the same way with an autonomous vehicle, you give the vehicle

the materials and instructions it needs, then from there it can drive on the road with no help from

the human. From all the sensors and cameras on the car the software in the car's computer can

perform the tasks of driving, sometimes even better than what humans can do when they drive.

All of this is done autonomously, no human interaction needed, all the human needs to do is sit

back and relax.

The Automotive

Wherever you look outside there is automobiles, they are one of the most used machines..

However, accidents with these machines happen, from causes like human, to drunk driving.
Brandon Patz

English 102

Professor Newport

4/12/2017
There is no way around accidents they are inevitable. The reason behind that is because everyone

is human, and humans make mistakes all the time. With these mistakes horrible things happen,

many deaths have occurred because of these accidents.

Although many car manufacturers are making cars as

safe as they can, automobiles will never be safe

enough to completely drop the idea of death from an

accident. As a race, we are able to create incredible

technologies. Self-Driving cars are the leading example of this, we have the capability to design

a car that can know what is going on around it and drive by itself with no human interaction, and

in turn dropping the amount of accidents happening all together.

Traffic is another huge deal with driving, even though there is laws set in place for

driving on the road, such as speed limits, and stop signs, etc. Police can not be everywhere at

once, and people tend to break laws. By breaking laws, such as speeding, they are changing the

efficiency of highways or any road for that matter. If everyone was going the same speed, there

would be no traffic, that's because no one would catch up to one another. Everyone would be

going at a constant pace. Also on highways, when someone is going onto a highway, people need

to let the person on to the highway, and then it would most definitely decrease traffic. However,

this isnt the case, as humans we like to do our own thing.

What is a Self-Driving Car?

When it comes to driving we like to go fast, but others like to go slow. And some are

very self-centered people, and since everyone is this way, we have what known as traffic. Since

no one is going at the same speed, and everyone wants to get to there destination with no one
Brandon Patz

English 102

Professor Newport

4/12/2017
slowing them down, which then the build up of cars on a road happen. Self-driving cars, in my

opinion, would definitely remove traffic all together because if no human driver was on the road

and was only these autonomous cars on the road. The cars could communicate with each other

and read speed limit signs and go the legal speed, which then leads to no traffic.

A self-driving car, or an autonomous car is a vehicle that has sensors and camera all

around the car. These sensors and cameras pick up things around the vehicle such as stop signs,

speed limits, even marking on the road itself. With this the car can determine how to drive on the

road, by following the markings on the road, and determine the speed by reading what the signs

say. The sensors on the car can help detect where other cars are on the road, which then will help

the car from not crashing into another car. As well as the sensors will pick up people that are on

the road or animals that are on the road. Which will make it so the car will move out of the way

or stop completely so it doesnt hit the object or person in front of it. The sensors can also help

prevent accidents from occurring. If a car starts to swerve towards the autonomous car it can

detect that and alert the human and move the car so it doesnt get hit. Since the car is

autonomous it doesn't need human attention, it just needs a destination, and with GPS it can find

a route to the said destination. This allows the person inside the car to just sit there and wait,

allow them to go on there phone and do whatever without them being distracted and cause an

accident.

Car Accidents, How do we eliminate them?

Accidents occur each and every day. Although many are not death threatening accidents,

they still come with the cost of being time consuming and stressful on figuring out how to pay

off the insurance and other fixes to the car. However, autonomous cars would most definitely
Brandon Patz

English 102

Professor Newport

4/12/2017
decrease the risk of major and basically wipe out minor accidents. In an article by Janet

Fleetwood, she says, Autonomous vehicles which could reduce traffic fatalities by up to 90% by

eliminating accidents caused by human error could save more than 29,000 lives in the United

States alone. This quote in Fleetwoods article shows statistics on self-driving cars. How these

cars are something we need on the road. We need to take advantage of this technology so we can

reduce these deaths that occur every year by stupid decisions humans make before driving.

Throughout the years of cars being developed, many manufacturers are making there cars

safer. Allowing the people inside it to be protected as can be when an accident occurs. In an

article titled, Future of Cars by David Hosansky, David Hosansky states, A number of higher-

end models now include systems to alert the driver that something is wrong or even to

automatically take action, such as applying the brakes if the vehicle is at risk of rear-ending the

car in front(Hosansky 1). The quote from the article shows that car manufacturers are already

getting to the stages of making self-driving cars. These cars that manufacturers design and

produce will know when something is wrong and tell the human driving, or even stop the car.

There are many cars out there now that can stop before the human even presses the break. Since

we can do this we should put it into the self-driving car, so it becomes safer than it already is.

The accidents that occur all happen due to human error. With the implementation of using

computers to run our cars, the speed at which computers can react to certain situations would

significantly decrease accidents from happening. For example, if someone runs a red light, a

human may not be fast enough to stop to avoid hitting the car. However, a computer would be

able to sense that the car is about to be hit because it has sensors all around it. As well as these

cars would have some sort of vehicle to vehicle communication with each other so they would be
Brandon Patz

English 102

Professor Newport

4/12/2017
able to steer clear of the other. In the article titled, Future of Cars, David Hosansky states,

Motor vehicles are expected to begin using wireless technology to communicate their positions,

speed and direction to each other, as well as to certain road infrastructure, such as traffic

lights(Hosansky 1). The article proves my point that, with the adaptation of wireless

communication, self driving cars could easily be able to be a safe way of transportation because

of what the computer knows about all other cars and where they are located, etc.

The technology in cars is advancing exponentially each and every day. New inventions

are coming out to the industry everyday. The technology we have today, is plenty sufficient

enough to get self driving cars on the road. A major car company, Tesla, is way ahead of the

game by having each one of there cars have the ability to drive them self, as well as be an

assistant to the driver. Although many car companies are in the process of making their own self

driving cars a reality. As each day goes by computer power and speed go up faster and faster.

With this computers in cars would be able to react to something happening before it even

happens with complex algorithms and having strong sensors and cameras all around the car.

A person is in a self-driving car and the car malfunctions and gets into a pretty severe

accident, who or what is responsible for the accident? According to an article titled,

Responsibility for Crashes of Autonomous Vehicles: An Ethical Analysis, Holding the

manufacturers responsible for any crashed caused by the vehicle would probably be the most

obvious solution(Hevelke & Nida-Rumelin 2). This quote would make sense, however, if two

self-driving cars get into an accident, they both malfunction because these cars have crash

avoidance, and so it would be both cars manufacturers fault for faulty sensors and cameras.

Although if the accident involves a self-driving car and a human driver, if the autonomous car is
Brandon Patz

English 102

Professor Newport

4/12/2017
at fault for the accident then most definitely it's the manufacturers fault because the person riding

in the car had no control over the software and hardware malfunctioning.

Traffic Prevention, How do we reduce traffic?

Traffic is probably one of the most annoying things drivers have to face each and every

day. It is caused by how self-centered people are when they drive, instead of everyone going at

one constant speed, everyone goes at completely different speeds. As well as the speed difference

as a factor of creating traffic, drivers not allowing other cars in on a onramp, really create the

congestion. According to the article titled, Future of Cars, by David Hosansky, Traffic

congestion is estimated to cost the United States more than $100 billion a year in wasted time

and fuel, not to mention air pollution caused by idling cars (Hosansky 2). The quote is a really

shows the big issue with traffic. Autonomous cars would most definitely remove this factor

because the cars would go the speed at which the cameras and sensors on the car read on the

speed limit signs.

Since all cars are going at a constant speed, no traffic would occur since everyone would

be moving without catching up or needing to pass one another. If all cars on the road are self-

driving cars, speed limits could be changed, and many rules on the road could be changed since

no human driver could make any simple mistake, computers dont drink and drive, or text and

drive, they just keep going until told to shut off. Computers are fast machines and are getting

faster at processing each and everyday. Since these computers are getting faster speed limits on

roads can increase significantly. With the increase of speed limits people would be able to get to

their destination faster than before. As well as keep a constant pace on the road which will

eliminate the traffic .

Brandon Patz

English 102

Professor Newport

4/12/2017
In traffic, accidents happen, it's one of the main reasons why I believe self driving cars

should take the road and reduce or eliminate traffic all together. In an article titled, Reducing

Traffic Deaths, it states Another proposal moving forward would require vehicle-vehicle

communications systems on new vehicles, a technology that could help drivers avoid or mitigate

70 to 80 percent of vehicle crashes involving unimpaired drivers, a NHTSA spokesman said in

an email.(Kennerly 6). This quote really shows that people are trying to find ways of reducing

deaths by accidents. This involves this new communication technology in order for the cars to

know when a car is by one another. Using this technology in self-driving cars would eliminate

traffic as well because the cars would be able to communicate and tell each car what speed to

operate at.

Computer Malfunctioning in Cars

Hardware and software, these two things are just like peas in a pod. They work together

in order to perform an operation. However, They malfunction, the malfunction maybe due to

many things such as a bug in the software's code that then makes the computer lock up and

perform slowly or crash all together. In a self-driving car there is going to be a computer, and a

lot of software involved. This increases the chances of malfunctioning. Aarnout Brombacher

wrote an article about the reliability of the cars, he states For those cars to be accepted by the

general audience we, as quality and reliability engineers, are expected to make validated models

that are able to predict properties as the likelihood of people getting killed by flaws in the

system. In the Netherlands this value should not exceed 10. He really proves the point that

there will be flaws but within the code there is safety factors put into place in order to insure the

possibility of a malfunction is virtually not possible.

Brandon Patz

English 102

Professor Newport

4/12/2017
Another big issues with these self-driving cars is the climate. The weather is a huge factor

these car companies have to take into consideration. They need to figure out how to allow these

cars to drive themselves in bad weather conditions such as snow/icy roads. Steven Shladover

wrote an article titled, The truth about Self-Driving Cars, in this article he says Changing

road surfaces are a problem, too. So are snow and ice. This quote makes sense, self-driving cars

would probably have an issue with those factors. These car have the capability to drive

themselves, but when it comes to the conditions that the planet gives us, its a bit more

challenging.

These cars take a lot of programming and a lot of complex algorithms in order to function

properly. This does increase the chance of a mistake made by either the engineer designing the

car or even the programmer programming the software involved with the car. One major

question being asked along with the malfunctioning aspect is the unavoidable accidents. In an

article titled, Self-Driving Cars: An Ethical Perspective, it states, Though Googles self-driving

car has crash-avoidance features, how might it be programmed to act in a situation which a crash

is unavoidable ... ?(1). This question is the toughest question these programmers face. This is a

huge flaw with designing these cars because the car can detect the accident happening but it cant

completely avoid a crash when there is more possibilities of another accident happening.

Self-driving cars, they do have there flaws, but have more advantages than disadvantages

in the long run. Erick Guerra says it the best in his article titled, When Autonomous Cars Take to

the Road, stating, Self-Driving cars will also expand personal mobility for the third of the

population without drivers licenses and the tenth of households without cars due to

age,disability, low income,or preference. Mr.Guerra states it all perfectly, these cars would be
Brandon Patz

English 102

Professor Newport

4/12/2017
especially helpful for the disabled. For example, the blind, they are unable to drive because they

cant see, however, if they were in a self-driving car, they would be able to get to their

destination faster, and without having someone who can drive, take them somewhere. As well as

people in wheelchairs could get into the vehicle and not have to do anything but just get to there

destination. These autonomous cars would be a huge improvement to those with disabilities, and

make there lives more efficient.

Survey Results

Along with these cars helping people with disabilities out by allowing them to drive, they

will also help the other population. If these cars

were apart of car services like taxis people would

be able to get into the car punch in their

destination and it would drive itself to the

destination. In a survey I conducted, I asked,

Would you ride in an Autonomous Car?, and

my results show that 54% of the people that voted

would ride in such a car. With that data I can sort

of conclude that people are willing to buy and use these car, however it is not set in stone. This is

just a small sample size of people but does give the idea of these cars being something people

would want.

These cars wont also just help people with disabilities but also everyday tasks. For

example schools buses could become autonomous and the car would be able to find the most

efficient route to take to pick up students. These cars would also help out with parking, having
Brandon Patz

English 102

Professor Newport

4/12/2017
the car pull up to the front door of a restaurant or mall, and then being able to go and park itself

would be a major time saver for people in a rush. Along with being able to summon these cars

from where they are parked and have the car come pick you up would be a major help in

everyday life. However, these cars could also just drive itself around if there is no parking at a

certain place, maybe even find parking somewhere. Mobile phone apps are allowing the user to

summon their car and open doors,etc. These cars may not even need keys just the phone of the

owner.

Self-Driving cars are available to the public, but are rather expensive. However, these

cars are able to do some extraordinary

things. These cars can be summoned to

the user, as well as being able to turn on

the car from the owner's phone. These

cars can also drive themselves out of the

garage. The cars the car company Tesla

makes, there is an app where you can do

all those things, as well as open all the doors in the car. Also in the app you can control the

temperature inside the car. As well as be able to open and close windows in the car. These cars

can do so much already, and as time goes on these cars will become more and more advanced.

The Future of Self-Driving Cars

The Autonomous cars industry is heavily attributed to Tesla, because they are the only car

manufacturer that has self-driving cars available to the public. These self-driving cars are

becoming more and more a reality today, and is something that people are still amazed by each
Brandon Patz

English 102

Professor Newport

4/12/2017
and everyday. These cars will only get better from here, the technology is going to become more

advanced. In a survey I conducted, I asked the question, Do you believe Autonomous cars are

the future of transportation?. The results I got were quite shocking, people were split on

absolutely and no. Out of 80 votes on this survey 30 people said absolutely and 30 others said no,

the remain 20 votes said maybe. This poll really contributed to the idea that maybe these cars are

the future, maybe they are not.

In conclusion, These cars are the future of transportation, and all around something that

would be beneficial for all people. It would allow people to drive around without even having a

license. As well as decrease the amount of deaths that happens each year, and will help remove

the traffic factor in driving. However, these cars do come with problems that need to be fixed

before they can actually take the road. Although these cars as of right now, they are pretty stable.

For what we have developed so far it is really impressive to be able to have a car drive itself. All

the technology in these cars is something people back when the first car came out didnt even

know would be possible. The future most definitely has these types of cars on the roads. The

creation of these cars is something that will change the way humans operate with day to day

tasks, and improve their lives drastically.

Self-driving car is something that will happen, and will help improve the lives of many.

Especially those who are disabled and for those who just dont like driving. Autonomous cars

will help the human race out. We are able to create this technology, let's use this technology to

our advantage, and make our lives easier and more efficient, and change the way we travel.
Brandon Patz

English 102

Professor Newport

4/12/2017

Works Cited

Works Cited

Brombacher, Aarnout. (Re)Liability of SelfDriving Cars. An Interesting

Challenge! Quality and Reliability Engineering International, Wiley Online

Library, 25 July 2014, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/qre.1707/full. Accessed

10 Apr. 2017.

Fleetwood, Janet. Public Health, Ethics, and Autonomous Vehicles. American Journal of

Public Health, vol. 107, no. 4, Apr. 2017, pp. 632537. Academic Search Complete,

doi:10.2105/AJPH.2016.303628. Accessed 5 May 2017.

Guerra, Erick. When Autonomous Cars Take to the Road. Planning, vol. 81, no. 5, May

2015, pp. 3638. Academic Search Complete, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&AuthType=ip,uid&db=a9h&AN=102597859&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Accessed 5 May 2017.

Hevelke, Alexander, and Julian Nida-Rmelin. Responsibility for Crashes of Autonomous

Vehicles: An Ethical Analysis. SpringerLink, Springer Netherlands, 11 June 2014,

link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11948-014-9565-5#enumeration. Accessed 5 May 2017.

Hosansky, David. Future of Cars. CQ Researcher by CQ Press, CQ Researcher, 25 July

2014, library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?

id=cqresrre2014072500&type=hitlist&num=0. Accessed 8 Apr. 2017.

Brandon Patz

English 102

Professor Newport

4/12/2017
Kennerly, Ellen. "Reducing Traffic Deaths." CQ Researcher 17 Feb. 2017: 145-68. Web.

5 May 2017.http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?

id=cqresrre2017021700&type=hitlist&num=0

Self-Driving Cars: An Ethical Perspective. Penn Bioethics Journal, vol. 11, no. 2, 2015, pp.

88. Academic Search Complete, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&AuthType=ip,uid&db=a9h&AN=117725283&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Accessed 5 May 2017.

Shladover, Steven E. The Truth about Self-Driving Cars. Scientific American, vol. 314, no.

6, June 2016, pp. 5257. Academic Search Complete,

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&AuthType=ip,uid&db=a9h&AN=115370469&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Accessed 5 May 2017.

http://www.strawpoll.me/12732367/r

www.thedetroitbureau.com/2015/11/tesla-model-x-to-start-at-80000/

www.extremetech.com/extreme/147940-google-self-driving-cars-in-3-5-years-feds-not-so-fast.