For decades humans have been fascinated by the idea of cars that do not require any human assisstance to drive. In recent years, this Science- Fiction movie staple has become les of a dream and more of a reality. Many companies are producing and testing drivelerless cars, but are they really safe? Driverless cars are unsafe because they require human attention, and because technology is unreliable. They are also impractical, and therefore, will never become a household staple.

The term "driverless"

is not really the best word to describe these cars, because they do require an alert human driver, with their eyes on the road, and may even require the human driver to take over in certain situations, such as backing out of a driveway, or thorugh a contruction zone. This begs the question," What is the point?" Why would we go through the trouble of creating these self-driving cars, if they are not completely self- driving? The truth is that no technology can replace human insticts in situations such as road-construction or traffic jams. However, if people are able to drive these cars, many wil most likely not pay attention to their surroundings. To solve this issue, many companies have invented creative ways to get the driver's attention when they need to take over. However, the only way for these cars to be completely safe is for the driver to remain alert and watching the road at all times. If a driver is already watching the road, they may as well just drive themselves!

In addition to this, there is the issue of whether these cars can truly be trusted. There are many issues with technology in our day to day lives. If a person's TV or cell phone stops working while they are using it, it is not a disasterous issue, but if their car stops accelerating and steering in the middle of the road, there may be monumental consequences! Technology can never be relied on completely, because there will always be issues and problems that may arise. Simply put, there is a reason that these cars are outlawed in almost every state!

Safety issues aside, there is also a practicality issue with these cars. Is this really something that people will use in their everyday lives? Will these cars be a practical item for common people? As discussed earlier, the driver has to keep constant attention on the road for these cars to be safe. These cars simply are not practical. For example, the BMW "Traffic Jam Assisstant" can only reach speeds of 25 miles per hour, and requires the driver to keep hold of the wheel. These cars also use a lot of sensors. Would they be practical and effecient to manufacture? Chances are, many people would not even be able to afford these vehicles, becuase the prices would be astonomical. These cars are not practical for everyday use by the average person. They are more fitting as a toy for a celebrity or millionaire. The self-driving car will not become a household staple for the everyday family.

Self-driving cars shoud not continue to be developed. These vehicles are unsafe and impractical. They require constant human attention and the liability issues are muddy, at best. For these reasons, self-driving cars should not continue to be developed, and will never become a common item in the United States.