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Self-driving trucks feared
The Texas Department of Transportation has announced that soon, Austin Highway 130 will be testing a pilot program for self-driving trucks. Sensors will be placed along the road to communicate possible hazards and traffic with these trucks. This one-lane risky system will be testing the latest technology in self-driving vehicles.
Several concerns come to mind, beginning with safety. Evolution and progress are inevitable; however, my comfort level doesn’t allow that much power on such new
technology. Yes, automating transportation will reduce costs, but safety comes first. Numerous accidents have occurred in self-driving “foolproof” automobiles causing severe damage.
Sensors help but are not 100% reliable. History shows us that sensors fail and malfunctions occur. What measures are being taken to ensure public safety on this highway during testing?
In working with computers for a while, I have seen software fail and lose everything. Human life is irreplaceable and should be primarily protected.
Another logical concern is vulnerability. Systems all over the world are getting hacked and taken over by unscrupulous geniuses. The protection of software is very important, but like everything else, when someone wants to invade, they will find a way.
Will this new technology open a door to an easier way to cause damage to our country? Somehow terrorists have found ways to infiltrate firewalls and protections in place, to create harm. These self-driving vehicles are 18-wheelers, essentially killing machines if they are hacked. How complicated would it be for these vehicles to be manipulated by the wrong hands or minds? Kodiak, a company leading the way with self-driving trucks, has stated that the main purpose for creating these vehicles is to save lives. Every year more than 400,000 accidents occur on U.S. highways. So, they have set out to try to reduce this by creating the safest driver with automation. However, automation doesn’t improvise. Last-minute decision-making and reactions are not programmable into automation.
Although vehicle automation is the future, there are ways of testing these vehicles without risking human lives on a public highway.
Yvonne Guajardo
Mission
Recent incident spurs comment
After reading “A hit-and-run crash outside Palmview ends with the trooper in hospital,” I hope the officer is safe and has no injuries.
According to the article, The BMW passenger and driver’s car crashed into a Texas Department of Public Safety unit during a hit-and-run incident.
This event was classified as an accident, but how the driver and passenger fled is not considered an accident. A “hit-and-run” is common. People flee, scared at the moment and they do not take responsibility for the consequences of their actions. But as the days go by they will be found. It will be worse because they didn’t help an injured police officer who was taken to hospital because of his actions.
The trooper has not been identified but DPS did say that EMS transported them to a local hospital for injuries sustained in the crash, the extent of which is also unknown. According to the article, the trooper’s unit, a Chevrolet Tahoe, was stationary at a stop sign facing southbound on Western Road, north of 5 Mile Line Road north of Palmview, at around 5:25 a.m. Saturday, when a silver BMW crashed into the unit.
Alexa Marquez
La Joya
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