The futurtistic concept of driverless cars is promising and will solve many problems. Admittedly, self driving cars would create a certain amount of problems. However, the benefits of automation in the transportation industry far outweigh the negative aspects. The increasingly technology based world would see many good things come of automatic cars and the amount of problems would be miniscule compared to the positive qualities.

The benefits of an automatic transportation system include the most prominent and beneficial concept of convinience. Without drivers following a strict schedule and being limited in number, automatic cars would be highly and easily available around the clock. Convinience is a key factor in the popularity of many pieces of technology being invented today, so the benefit of having around the clock service would provide a great boost to the success of the cars. The automatic transportation concept would provide another very important benefit. The common problem of drunk or distracted driving would no longer be a leading cause of death and injuries for many people. By automating transportation and effectively getting rid of dangerous drivers, the streets would be made a much safer place. A third and no less positive trait of the automated transportation system would be that, as the first paragraph says, "use half the fuel of today's taxis". Caring for enviroment is becoming a more common concern and reducing the magnitude of emmission by any amount would serve to benefit all people. Cutting the emissions of cars in half would reduce the negative effects of humanity on the planet severely. Not only will the reduction help the enviroment, the reduction in gas would even lessen the cost of using the transportation system, resulting in easier access to transportation.

Undeniable roadblocks lie in the way of making an automatic transportation system a reality, but the problems are not as bad as they may seem. Examining the logistics and cost of making a "smart" system of transportation result in the conclusion that smart cars, as opposed to smart roads, are the most economic strategy to use. The apparent main problem of this strategy is the limit of the sensor technology of the cars. However, the sensor technology existing today is already enough to create mostly self driving cars that require only minimal effort on the part of the drivers. Technology will only advance with time and soon, the technology to completely and safely automate transportaion will be made available. In the meantime, cars using technology such as BMW's "Traffic Jam Assistant" already contribute to making the roads safer and less monotonous. Another large issue with the creation of an automatic transportation system is the law. In the case of an accident, either the machine or human is at fault and deciding may prove difficult. However, with the creation of new laws and technology, any situation will be able to be easily diffused and resolved.

Although an entirely automatic tranportation system is not likely to become an immediate reality, automation is already being applied to the current transportation sytem to increase safety, comfort, and convinience at little to no expense. Through careful examination of the concept, clearly, the benefits of converting to an automated transportation system are much more prominent than the solvable problems the system creates. A movement toward an automatic system of roads and highways has already begun and the future promises progress and positive effects.