Teacher's Column
Hello, from Dan!!
Who’s driving?
I recently read an article about driverless cars! That’s right! Cars driving on the street without a person behind the wheel! A complex computers system that uses sensors and cameras is able to drive the car. At first I didn’t think that it was such a good idea, but the article gave several points that showed how it could be advantageous.
First of all, almost all accidents are a result of human error. So if cars were all controlled by computers, then we would have much safer streets. Nowadays, I often see cars go speeding through yellow or even red lights. Cars also often are starting into an intersection before the light has turned green. Computer controlled cars would start and stop at the correct times, thus making driving much safer.
Another thing that many people would like is that they would be free to do anything they wanted while in the car going from point A to point B. Now the driver should be focused on the road. Talking on the phone and watching TV while driving are against the law because they are too dangerous. However, if the computer is driving the car, then the passengers can do whatever they want, even sleep! This to me is the biggest benefit of computerized cars.
The article also mentioned that many people might not need a car anymore if this new technology is used. A computerized car would be able to pick up multiple passengers at a time and drop them off at their separate destinations. They would effectively be like small trains. People wouldn’t need to worry about finding or paying for parking. At the same time, this would reduce traffic and pollution!
At first I wasn’t so sure I liked the idea of fully computerized cars, but the more I think about it, the better and better it sounds. I am sure there are some negatives in using this type of system, but it seems that the positives out weigh them by a lot. We will see, only time will tell!