Patrick Connolly Portfolio Persuasive Essay
Patrick Connolly Portfolio Persuasive Essay
Patrick Connolly Portfolio Persuasive Essay
By Patrick Connolly
If it was possible for a burden to be taken away from you, would you do it?
Well … the hassle, stress and nightmare of the morning commute and rush hour traffic could be a
thing of the past, with the life-changing advances in self-driving automobiles. As the future fast ap-
proaches, the traditional form of driving needs to be eliminated, as this outdated and old fashioned
form of travel is harmful not only to our mental state but also our physical health. A new and im-
proved method of swift, easy and effortless transport is among us, self-driving vehicles. They will
improve commuting time, ease of travel and most importantly create a better experience.
Currently, self-driving automobiles are not just for the imagination nor drawing books but one of re-
ality, we have the capability of progressing onwards to this new improved futuristic world. At this
very moment, over 2.9 million miles have been driven fully autonomously - this is the first of many
milestones that will be achieved along this journey. Furthermore, this market is expanding at an ex-
ponential rate as it is estimated that by 2026 the industry will be worth $556.67 billion according to
Allied Market Research estimates. The UK is set to make the next major leap in the market as they
plan to have fully autonomous vehicles on the roads across Britain by 2021, just one year. There are
already several companies with their hats in the race, including some the biggest car manufactures
in the game: Mercedes-benz, Volvo, BMW and Toyota. Also many major tech giants have entered
the race too with the likes of Apple, Google, Samsung, Nvidia and many more vying to become the
market leader.
Self-driving cars offer a multitude of benefits over traditional vehicles but one of the major advan-
tages is the reduction in road related deaths and injuries. It is claimed that 94% of car crashes are
due to driver behaviour or error. Self-driving cars will eliminate human errors and therefore se-
verely reduce the amount of deaths and injuries cars claim every day. 1.25 million lives were taken
across the world by cars last year, but with the introduction of a safer alternative of self-driving cars
this will be substantially reduced, if not eliminated all together. Imagine a world with safe roads,
with no deaths accounted to cars and worry-free journeys to work, this is the possibility right within
our grasp. Just imagine. Let us make these things a reality so we don’t ever have to worry about los-
ing our loved ones to cars ever again.
More than 270,000 pedestrians loose their lives each and every year, this must stop. With the ever
increasing amount of traditional cars on the roads today these figures are only going to increase we
must act now and change the way the world sees cars, trucks and busses because each and everyone
of these deaths accounted to cars are real people, me and you, ordinary people, people who don’t
want to die, people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. But all of this can come to an
end with self-driving cars.
If the previous point alone was not enough to fully convince you of the enormous benefits of self-
driving vehicles can bring, then here is another - the world is at risk without them. Continually on
the news we see the mention of Global Warming, emissions, and fossil fuels that we may have be-
come slightly numb to these phrases, however, the threat is very real and we must act on them to
prolong our environment. Autonomous vehicles have the capability of making a significant change,
one which we can’t ignore. Global warming is accountable for many significant and dangerous
changes our world is experiencing currently from the likes of rising sea levels to massive droughts,
this is all down to harmful gases eating away our much needed ozone layer, the most notable and
harmful gas is CO2 or Carbon Dioxide. Within the UK alone, 38 million tonnes of the stuff is sent
up to the skies every year, cars are only making this shocking number increase. Moving to the next
generation of vehicles means less harmful pollutants as with this change comes the introduction and
expansion of electric cars on the roads. Climate change is very real and it is costing many lives
across the world, right at this very moment. Many of America’s woodlands are engulfed in flames.
The cause…Climate Change. If we act, we can prevent this. Small changes such as moving to self-
driving cars means you can play your part in restoring the health of our planet. What’s stopping
you?
Some people believe that cars are proof of ones wealth and social class, but in a time where 3.1 mil-
lion children from around the world die every year from hunger and malnourishment, should we be
obsessing over these status symbols? It is ingrained in human nature to be greedy but this is not
what our world needs right now. We all must stand up for the dead, who voices cannot be heard due
to the greed in our society. Cars are not the total solution for this issue but they are an important
block to our next generation. Don’t let our ways affect our children who will go on to inhabit our
world after us.
Our actions have an affect on the next generation, so act now, for the future. We can make a better
and safer world with a few small adaptations. Self-driving cars are the solution to many of life’s
biggest problems: from saving our lives to saving our world. We need to move on, we need to
change and we need to improve our lives. If you could remove the pain caused by the death of our
loved ones, would you do it? If you could save time and make your day more productive, would
you do it? If you could make our precious earth last longer, would you do it? The way to do this and
much more is advance to the next generation in automobiles.
References
https://coalitionforfuturemobility.com/benefits-of-self-driving-vehicles/
https://www.startupgrind.com/blog/5-reasons-you-should-embrace-self-driving-cars/
https://mobility.here.com/learn/smart-transportation/self-driving-car-levels-benefits-and-constraints
https://www.startupgrind.com/blog/5-reasons-you-should-embrace-self-driving-cars/
https://www.racfoundation.org/motoring-faqs/safety#a1
https://www.carbonindependent.org/17.html
https://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2013/make_walking_safe_20130502/en/
https://www.businessinsider.com/advantages-of-driverless-cars-2016-6?r=US&IR=T#roads-will-
be-safer-1
https://www.worldhunger.org/world-child-hunger-facts/