Twenty years ago, if someone had told you that self-driving vehicles would take us out on our roads, you wouldn't have believed them. However, now this innovation no longer seems so far-fetched. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay An autonomous car, also known as a self-driving car, is a vehicle designed to operate without human interaction. In recent years, automotive companies have improved cars to be more advanced and automated. As technology advances, it's no surprise that driverless vehicles will soon be on the roads replacing traditional cars. Indeed, Singapore has already begun to launch a pilot testing phase in which the entire western part of the country – including Nanyang Technological University – has become a testbed for autonomous vehicles (Abdullah, 2020). There is no doubt that the transition from human driving to driverless cars will have a significant impact on society. An obvious benefit of autonomous vehicles is increased safety. Every year, approximately 1.35 million people die due to road accidents (World Health Organization, 2020). Researchers at the U.S. Department of Transportation estimate that fully autonomous vehicles will be able to reduce traffic fatalities by up to 94% by eliminating crashes that occur due to reckless driving or human error (Maddox, 2018). It may be difficult for a human to quickly decide whether to veer left or right when a collision is about to occur. However, for a driverless car powered by advanced technology and which has run thousands of simulations before hitting the road, it is possible to immediately choose the safest route, avoiding any accident (Andrew, 2018). Furthermore, the reduction of such accidents will result in less traffic congestion and better use of healthcare facilities for other areas of medical care. Autonomous vehicles also bring convenience to the public. While many find pleasure in driving, spending hours on daily commutes and having to drive long distances can become boring for some. With a driverless car at the wheel, passengers are now able to engage in more productive activities while on the move. This innovation represents a huge time saver for everyone. Singapore's involvement with autonomous vehicles has been extensive, and one reason is because it wants to help its aging society. Subodh Mhaisalkar, professor in charge of the Nanyang Energy Research Institute, says that having such technology available is extremely beneficial when the need arises to provide mobility to the elderly (Jamshed, 2019). The country has also explored the application of self-driving technology to public transport in order to make new additions in terms of shared mobility and, at the same time, address the constraints faced in terms of land and manpower (Smart Nation Singapore, n.d.) . Furthermore, most autonomous vehicles today are more or less fully electric. These cars use much less gas and energy when on the road than a vehicle driven by humans. Most fuel is burned due to speeding and excessive braking, and driverless vehicles are designed to eliminate these factors, resulting in less air pollution. Additionally, driverless cars also mean fewer cars per household. A vehicle is now able to take family members to all different destinations and park until it is time to pick them up (Andrew, 2018). This reduces the number of carson the road and redundant trips that overlap, which, in return, reduces the amount of emissions released into the atmosphere. Therefore, autonomous vehicles also benefit the environment, especially when it comes to energy consumption. Looking at the recent news on how the entire world has been shaken by the global pandemic – COVID-19, the implementation of autonomous vehicles has definitely been a topic of interest. The infectious disease keeping many people homebound has accelerated the opportunity and need for automation in nearly every industry, including autonomous driving. In fact, in China, companies such as Neolix have already exploited contactless delivery services with driverless vehicles to deliver food, groceries and other essential goods (Lekach, 2020). There is no doubt that in the future, coming out of COVID-19, autonomous vehicles will face a positive outlook, especially in times of need. Such vehicles have many desirable applications, particularly during a global crisis, as a useful alternative when it comes to delivering food and medicine or even transporting people while maintaining social distancing. However, with its advantages, also comes its potential disadvantages. As much as driverless vehicles have a positive impact on society, we cannot overlook the barriers to their adoption. One disadvantage of self-driving cars is their price. Critical systems for highly motivated vehicles, i.e. sensors, radar, and communication devices, are expensive compared to older vehicles (Nunes and Hernandez, 2019). Therefore, due to the advanced technology developed for autonomous vehicles, they are bound to be very expensive. However, the technology is said to become cheaper when it is available to the public for a longer period. Perhaps, in due time, driverless cars could become something the masses can afford. Another potential disadvantage of autonomous vehicles is their high dependence on technology. Driverless vehicles rely heavily on the combination of hardware and software to operate. However, this may be a fallback as there is always the possibility of unexpected problems occurring despite successful programming. Even a small malfunction can cause a huge failure and lead to a serious accident. Therefore, it is possible that such errors could cause a backfire of technology dependency and promote unsafe implementations and increased incidents (Prince, 2015). Since a driverless vehicle does not completely eliminate the likelihood of a traffic accident, adverse weather conditions also pose an additional layer of difficulty. An autonomous vehicle may not be able to operate at a high level of safety in all weather conditions. A lot of work is needed for an autonomous vehicle to maneuver safely in adverse weather conditions. Under such conditions, slippery roads, hydroplaning, water accumulation, and malfunctioning sensors may be a problem (Janakiraman, 2019). Therefore, the concept of autonomous technology still lacks the ability to fully function in all environments. Additionally, owning an autonomous vehicle means allowing third parties to track your movements. Driverless technology involves self-learning techniques focused on obtaining location-based data and other sensitive information. It is highly possible for hackers to hack the network and break into the software of any vehicle, taking control of its operation (Prince, 2015). Therefore, this represents a major security and privacy concern for many. With the rise of autonomous technology comes the loss of jobs, 14(22), 4064-4068.