100 years ago, people thought that by 2010 we would have robots and flying cars. Sadly we have failed their expectations, but we have the next best thing, driverless cars. Or so we thought. Dieter Zetsche, owner of the car company Mercedes-Benz discussed his plans of creating and selling driverless cars with Auto Express. He said that we “technically can build a driverless car now,” and that with that type of car on the street it would greatly reduce the amount of accidents that can occur.

While the general idea of this invention may seem like a brilliant idea, there are many places for error, and safety becomes a big issue. The enormous amount of energy and resources needed would make this car very pricey and therefore inaccessible to everyone but the wealthy.

With that in mind, there would be very few of these cars on the road, which would and defeating the purpose of this vehicle. The ratio of regular cars to these driverless cars would be so overwhelming that it would virtually be as if these cars weren’t on the road.

Another problem would be the split-second decisions that must be made that even a high technology car couldn’t detect. Sudden breaking, reckless drivers and careless pedestrians could cause major problems that the most advanced safety features couldn’t prevent.

Take the driving situation at De Anza College for example. Frustrated students who are late for a class are probably the most hazardous drivers one can encounter.

With a car that would require sensors or some other man-made feature to control the breaking system, it could give the driver a heart attack. The sensor could break, delay or be triggered when it shouldn’t be, and that could cause a lot of accidents.

“Advancing in technology is always good, so I think learning how to produce safer and more efficient cars is smart but with all the crazy drivers we have at De Anza I don’t think it’s a good idea at the moment,” said nursing major Majentta King. So in a world full of dangerous drivers who completely disregard the speed limit or the safety of others, driverless cars can wait.

” I think it’s a possibility our technology is so advanced that it should leave little room for error. And if there is a problem, we can learn from it and grow,” says Melfred Ignacio, dance major.

“I think these kind of cars could actually help a lot. Maybe not at first, but with modifications and more of them out there they can be very useful,” said Mariko Sampaga, biology major.

We as humans were born to evolve. Learn more, teach more, and just grow. New innovations and ways of doing something are always welcome, but there are certain things that are beyond unnecessary. Human beings were not supposed to be lazy and completely dependent on technology.