The Future of Cars and Driving

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Now that self driving cars are here will conventional cars become obsolete and a thing of the past? The founder and Chief Financial Officer of Tesla thinks so, “In the year 2037, non-autonomous vehicles will be as much of a curiosity as riding a horse is today,” said Elon Musk.

It is so strange to see a steering wheel turning with no hands on it. Auto-piloting cars have now hit the market. Cars such as the Tesla Model X, a sport utility vehicle that seats six, produced by billionaire Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company. All Tesla vehicles built after 2014 come equipped with auto-pilot hardware and software. Cars with these features have lane departure warnings, can parallel park, steer themselves, and brake when a car in front of them slows down.
Sensors mounted on the front and rear of the car monitors other vehicles as well as road markings to determine stopping distances and then brake the car as needed. Unfortunately, if the road does not have markings, the autopilot stops and the human driver must go back to controlling the car. If the Tesla comes within a predetermined distance of another car, it will automatically brake to ensure there isn’t a collision. Once the other car is no longer a hazard, the Tesla X will then accelerate back to the speed limit. In addition, while the car is driving in autopilot, changing lanes is as simple as flicking the blinker. The car will merge into the next lane without the driver taking any further action. However, the software does force the driver to periodically touch the wheel to keep the driver from falling asleep or getting distracted.
In the future, more cars will be automated and able to drive long distances without requiring the driver. Currently, the software for self-driving is in its beta stages, making it sometimes finicky and uncooperative. Nevertheless, as this technology becomes more broadly available, futurists predict it will make driving safer, reduce insurance costs, and move traffic more efficiently.