Some people may claim that self-driving cars are the way of the future. For example, companies such as Tesla and Waymo have been studying and improving the idea of a self-driving car  for the past decade. 

Waymo is a Google company that separated to focus on cars while Tesla has been an automobile manufacturer for 16 years. They both, however, have the same goal in mind. To build a self-driving car. But why?

Waymo and Tesla believe that self-driving cars are safer than traditional cars because their sensors detect objects, which results in less chance of hitting and killing pedestrians, passengers, and other drivers. 

Other people argue that the self-driving cars offer a higher risk because they don’t carry the full awareness that an average human would have.

Self-driving cars have been driving on roads freely, but only in designated areas with restrictions. For instance, Waymo’s “Waymo One” cars can be used as taxis in Phoenix, Arizona.

Connor Irish, an eighth grader at McAuliffe Middle School, stated, “It’s good for everyone because it’s less effort to drive.”

The Waymo One has five sensors built into it. According to TechCrunch, “Waymo uses a combination of lidar, radar and cameras to detect and identify objects. Fog, rain or dust can limit visibility in all or some of these sensors.” According to Tesla, their cars include “twelve updated ultrasonic sensors [that] complement this vision, allowing for detection of both hard and soft objects at nearly twice the distance of the prior system.”

Ultimately, Tesla and Waymo are leading the way in self-driving car technology. By the time we reach 16 and start driving, this technology might be more popular or even the trend and, if so, these are the main companies buyers should check out.