To me, self-driving cars represent the most obvious step towards a safer, more efficient future in driving. Of course, the idea seems appealing. After all, who doesn't want someone to drive for them while they're stuck in rush-hour traffic? But we have to more closely analyse the laws, ethics, and safety aspects before moving full-steam ahead into what could possibly be the future of driving.

Self-driving cars have a lot of potential for both public and private use. This type of technology could be a major hit on the consumer market. Self-driving cars could take the most tedious part out of road trips or decrease the number of traffic cops we have to employ under government pay. One of the most appealing aspects for lawmakers and voters is the increased safety of self-driving cars. This is one of the most heavily argued topics in the entire debate over self-driving cars, even though Google's cars have been operating for over half a million miles with only a handful of minor accidents. One of the other pros that isn't mentioned nearly as much is the increased efficiency of high-traffic areas. Self-driving cars are smarter at merging and driving in dense traffic, meaning rush-hour traffic jams could one day be a thing of the past.

The other side of the debate for self driving cars is public transportation. Uber is already planning a self-driving taxi service, and other companies are sure to follow. Self-driving buses could also be used with schools or in major cities. Having a fully automated public transport system could make modern cities more efficient than they've ever been.

Unfortunately, many of these same benefits offered by self-driving cars have a negative alter-ego. One of the major effects of increased automation is increased efficiency. However, as we move towards a fully automated world, we lose a lot of jobs in unspecialised industries. Laws would also have to be reworked for nearly every aspect of the traffic system. How and why would teenage drivers take a driving test if they're never going to have to drive a car? Will human drivers and AI drivers fall under the same category in the eyes of the law? There are still years and years of legal red tape that has to be cut through before self-driving cars can even make it onto the consumer market. In addition, there are soem ethical problems involved with programming self-driving cars. Programmers and developers could be a fault for deaths caused by bugs in their program. And what should you do if a crash is unavoidable? Should you sacrifice the passenger to save a pedestrian?

As a result, I believe that self-driving cars can and should someday be a part of our everyday lives. However, dozens of laws will have to be rewritten, commities formed, and lawsuits fought before we can even judge automated cars under the same laws we judge human drivers. There is a huge amount of potential for a faster, safer, more enjoyable traffic system, and it lies in self-driving cars. But, for us to be able to implement any of it, we need to make some very difficult decisions.