After the fatal Tesla crash, I still feel safe in my self-driving car

At first, the thought of letting my car drive itself seemed rather frightening. But the highway was almost empty and the lanes were clearly marked, so I took the risk and engaged the autopilot function in my new Tesla Model X. Yet I couldnt let go of the steering wheel. I didnt want to put my lifein the hands of software. This was two weekends ago asI drove to Big Sur, Calif.

The fear lasted about five minutes.Curiosity got the better of me and Ilet go of the steering wheel to see what would happen. The car continued to drive just fine; it didnt need me. After a couple of minutes, the car beeped and displayed a message on the dashboard asking me to put my hands back on the wheel a feature the automaker added to ensure drivers were in the front seat and attentive.

But 20minutes later, I had one hand on the wheel and I was checking email with the other asthe car did the driving for me. I did take full control when the road was narrow orthe terrain was uneven, but by and large, I became as comfortable with the cars autosteer function as I am with cruise control.

Yes, self-driving cars pose new risks, as evidenced bythe recent fatal crash in Florida, when a Tesla in autopilot mode hit a large truck that crossed its path. The Tesla software cannot handle local roads, intersections or extreme hazards yet. There are limits to every technology. It is the same scenario as using cruise control on local roads you just shouldnt do it.

Three out of four U.S. drivers have the same fears I did, according to aAAA survey. The same survey revealed that only one in five would actually trust a driverless vehicle to drive itself with them inside. I have no doubt, however, that once they get behind the wheel of one, they too will be checking email as I did. Theyll feel as comfortable with software driving their cars as they are with software flying their airplanes.

Tesla calls its software autopilot, but it really is nothing more than cruise control on steroids. The autosteerfunctionkeeps the car in its lane, reads road signs, drives as much over the speed limit as you ask, and slows down or stops if there is a slower vehicle or obstruction ahead. If you want to overtake someone, you engage the turn signal, and the car will move itself to the adjacent lane when it can. I found this to be safer than changing lanes myself because of the blind spots. The advantage the Tesla has is that it can see in all directions at the same time. It literally has eyes in the back of its head.

I also learned how self-driving cars could prevent accidents when a car from the right jumped into my lane just asthe setting sun blinded me. My car automatically slowed down and gave way. No, it didnt honk.

Self-driving cars will improve our lifestyles and make the world smaller. They will prevent tens of thousands of fatalities every year. The best partis that they will do topesky, dangerous human drivers what the horseless carriage did to the horse and buggy: banish them from the roads. Software malfunctions will surely cause unfortunate accidents along the way. There will also be ugly public debates, efforts by incumbent businesses to create legislative barriers, and a lot of confusion.

But the technology is coming whether we are ready or not. AndI for one cant wait to receive the software upgrades that will let the car do all of the driving. I look forward to enjoying the scenery or working during my commute.

If political leaders and lawyers in the United States try to stop progress as is very likely other countries will still adopt the new technologies and take the lead. We will end up playing catch-up with the rest of the world and miss out on the most amazing transition of our lifetimes: into an era in which we become the drivers in driverless cars.

Link to article on Washington Post’s website

About Author

Vivek Wadhwa is Vice President of Innovation and Research at Singularity University; Fellow, Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance, Stanford University; Director of Research at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization at the Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University; and distinguished visiting scholar, Halle Institute of Global Learning, Emory University. He is author of ”The Immigrant Exodus: Why America Is Losing the Global Race to Capture Entrepreneurial Talent”–which was named by The Economist as a Book of the Year of 2012. Wadhwa oversees the academic programs at Singularity University, which educates a select group of leaders about the exponentially growing technologies that are soon going to change our world. These advances—in fields such as robotics, A.I., computing, synthetic biology, 3D printing, medicine, and nanomaterials—are making it possible for small teams to do what was once possible only for governments and large corporations to do: solve the grand challenges in education, water, food, shelter, health, and security.

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