Will DUI Convictions Become Obsolete With Driverless Cars?

StaffDecember 16, 20132 Mins read1.1k Views

Even George Jetson, who flew his personal spacecraft to and from work each day, was subjected to being pulled over by air traffic police officers. Today, in what seems like a scene from a futuristic cartoon, people are wondering how Google’s latest invention will operate, or perhaps simplify our lives. The Google Driverless Car is touted as a “self-driving car.”

How Does this Car Work?

The invention of driverless cars raises many concerns. For instance, will they operate accurately all the time? What happens if the software malfunctions while you are on the road? Does that mean more accidents? How alert will a driver have to be while riding in his or her self-driving car? Can you nap or read a book on your way to work or will the passenger have some level of responsibility to push buttons or monitor controls?

Speaking of responsibility and lack shown when drink driving, one west coast law firm who claim they have the best DUI lawyer in San Bernadino says, “When you have been arrested for DUI in California, you have only 10 days to save your license from suspension or revocation.” Cases for DUI are notoriously complicated; will driver licenses even be required in the future? Technically, if all works as planned, will DUI convictions become a thing of the past, once we are being driven around by software?

Are Driverless Cars Legal?

In 2011, Nevada passed a law allowing “autonomous” cars to operate on roadways. The law went into effect in March of 2012, and by May of that same year, the first autonomous driver had his or her license. Florida soon followed suit allowing autonomous cars to be tested on roads in the Sunshine State, and next came California. Out of the three states that allow self-driving vehicles so far, Florida and California are for test purposes only.

Will DUIs Become Obsolete?

This also leads us to the next logical question: if a driverless car can get you home safely from wherever you are, does that mean you no longer have to worry about drinking and driving laws in your state? Or, will people still be charged with some form of RWI (riding while intoxicated) if they are the only person in the driverless car? So many factors to be determined, it seems, and perhaps some major changes in driving laws are on the not too distant horizon.

Will Roads Be Potentially Safer?

If in fact, a driverless car can deliver you to your doorstep after a night of drinking, roads across the nation may be safer for all. Consider this perspective: in 2012 there were 214,828 DUI arrests in the state of California alone. If driverless cars eliminated just half of those, many lives would be saved each year.

We may not yet be flying our spaceships around town, but it seems that with the autonomous, automated, self-driving car, that might not be too far off in the future, either.

Freelance writer Teresa Stewart enjoys learning about new technology; while researching future changes that will result from using driverless vehicles, she found drinking and driving information for this article by searching the term best DUI lawyer in San Bernardino online.