Another Study Claims Autonomous Cars Will Solve All Life’s Problems

Mercedes-Benz F 015 (Credit: Mercedes-Benz)

Some people are understandably pretty excited about the possibilities of autonomous vehicle technology. If you’re not one of them, try driving on California State Route 91 during “rush hour” and you’ll suddenly have an acute understanding why having a car do the driving for you is a great thing.

That being said, there are many who are simply overstating the benefits that will be had when more cars start driving themselves. It’s like a kid who knows he’s getting a toy for Christmas and automatically begins fantasizing that the present will completely annihilate everything awful in the world.

This time around, it’s the Bookings Institution that’s overstating how autonomous vehicles will help save the government money. The assertion alone isn’t completely wrong, it’s just that there’s a humongous flaw in the reasoning that’s being made by some intelligent people.

The simple truth is that many of the predictions that are being made assume that every vehicle on the road will be autonomous. While some people would shrug and say “of course,” the fact is that such an expectation is completely unrealistic. Even if all cars came with autonomous technology in the near future, who’s to say that everyone would want to use it all of the time? The fact is that some people actually like to drive at least sometimes, so predictions like all traffic lights being eliminated because the cars would navigate through intersections in crazy patterns are completely ridiculous.

Another big assumption being made is that all older cars will somehow never enter public roads ever again. It would take sweeping legislation on the federal level to make it so some guy with his 1968 Ford Mustang GT can’t drive anywhere but on a track. Of course, there are people who would love to see all old cars smashed because they don’t have a soul, because that somehow is “progress.”

It’s true that autonomous cars will help save money, because many car crashes will be avoided and other efficiencies will be introduced with the wider adoption of the technology. It’s just that some people are blind to the fact that autonomous vehicle tech will never enjoy a 100 percent adoption rate.