In the old days, when we had horses and buggies to get around and not too many collisions took place. When a man would leave the bar drunk, climb into the buggy and fall asleep, somehow he would make it home in one piece. How was this possible? The horse that pulled the buggy was alert and knew the route to take his unconscious passenger home. Today, we have fast cars which require a driver – a driver who may be drunk, tired, or distracted; all of which could end in a vehicle collision. On the horizon is hope, an autonomous vehicle, which like the horse drawn buggy, will not get tired and safely carry its passengers to their homes.

On the positive side, autonomous vehicles could substantially reduce the cost of auto insurance, reduce traffic on the road, and open up new time allotments for productivity. If car collisions became less frequent auto insurance companies would not be able to justify high premiums. If traffic was reduced, then we would all save money on gasoline. And of course, if the driver no longer has anything to do with the operation of the vehicle, he will be open to new productive possibilities while on the road. Plus, this new product line will open up the market for new NX and Solid Edge computer aided design users, as well as FEMAP structural analysis users.

On the negative side, autonomous vehicles will cost more than comparable vehicles which lack autonomous ability and if an accident occurs the source of responsibility will be questioned.  If an autonomous vehicle is in a collision, will the driver, the car’s retailer, or the car’s manufacturer be held responsible?

Personally, I would buy an autonomous vehicle, but I would still keep at least one vehicle that requires me to be its driver since I have always enjoyed driving. While I like to be driven on occasion, who would pass up the thrill of speeding down the road in a driver-required muscle car?!