Years ago, when cars were first being developed, the idea that one would be able to practically drive itself probably would've been thought of as crazy. Cars themselves are such a grand example of technological wonder that one being able to handle major tasks on its own just seems like too much. However, here we are in 2016, and the concept of driverless cars being produced in mass and becoming a new normal is a real possibility. A possibility that, in the realm of safety and advancement, is promising.

The concept of driverless cars is nothing but a good idea. The safety that these cars could create on the road if enough people used them could be huge for the prevention of car crashes in the future, maybe even bringing us to a world in which the horrors of such accidents no longer happen at all. Efforts by Google and other companies to make such a scenario possible are close enough now to make it look as if it could really happen, but they aren't quite there yet. There's still work to be done, but the progress made so far points to a bright future in the world of automotive technology and on-road safety.

As of right now, concept models of driverless cars aren't exactly as driverless as they need to be yet. Efforts the likes of BMW's "Traffic Jam Assistant" assume a lot of the driving workload, but can't handle everything that a human driver can. Driverless car technology as of right now as a sort've driving crutch for people. It can get the job done, but you'll have to put in some effort yourself to get the full results. Driverless car technology right now is more like advanced assistance than anything, which is still a good thing, but it isn't enough. Humans still have too much involvement in the process to really be able to deem this cars "driverless." However, these measures towards true driverless technology are still positive ones in the name of safety, so there really isn't anything wrong with them, it's just that there needs to be more. Things like suggested heads-up displays and vibrating driver's seats are helpful, but they still involve the driver too much for it to really make much practical sense in the long run if the end result is a real driverless car. I guess you can't climb a tree without first starting at it's base, though, so I can't bash on this advancements too much because, all in all, they are just that: advancements towards a much bigger future goal. Look at these advancements as stepping stones to the eventual goal of a totally driverless on-road experience.

Another thing to consider when looking at the issue of driverless cars is the lawful implications involved with them. If someone behind the wheel of one of these driverless cars were to get into a crash, who would be at fault? I agree with the writer of this article in that there is a clear-cut issue here currently. However, I think with further advancement of this technology, crashes would be a thing of the past regardless, so these issues wouldn't even pop up. More states need to give this technology a chance rather than just outright banning its practice so that companies can work out the kinks so that the issues this practice is being banned over would eventually be non-issues anyways. Give these companies enough time, and this whole "who would be at fault" thing would never need to come up again if they got their way with further investment into these driverless projects.

All things considered, I don't think that there's an issue these companies couldn't solve regarding possible safety or lawful issues regarding driverless cars if they were just given enough time and resources to work with. I realize that these cars aren't actually driverless yet in the grand scheme of things, and I realize that in their current state they could bring up issues of liability to the law. But, with enough time, both of these things are simply obstacles that could be toppled with new technology. These companies involved in the creation of driverless cars are doing what they're doing for the betterment of driver safety and striving for the safest driving experience possible. I think we as a society owe it to them to give them a fair amount of time to complete this goal in its entirety. What we are seeing now is just a peak at what I'm sure is coming out of this driverless technology research, and I'm excited for the future of this field of study and hope that maybe, by the time thoughts of my first car purchase come around, it could be a driverless one. I know that, in the instance of my safety, that'd be really nice.