How Shared Driverless Cars Will Help Reduce Stress

With 19 companies hurrying to put driverless cars on the market by 2020, what we know as the automotive industry is about to undergo a massive overhaul. Even if the idea of riding in an automated vehicle makes you uncomfortable, driverless cars will work wonders for your health, particularly in reducing stress.

Reducing Traffic

Driverless cars are expected to reduce traffic by 80 percent, according to research from the Swinburne University Smart Cities Research Institute. Without as many cars on the road, you’ll get to where you need to go faster. No more frustration on the way to work.

Reducing Road Rage

With fewer people on the road, you’re less likely to succumb to stress while traveling. Road rage is one of the main forms of stress on the roads. It may seem harmless, but road rage has been described as “stress that hits the road” and leads to about 1,700 yearly deaths or injuries. If everyone’s in the passenger seat, they don’t have a human driver to get mad at, so road rage is likely to dissipate. Even if it doesn’t, a driver cannot act erratically and put others at risk due to their road rage.

You’re Less Likely to Get in an Accident

While reducing road rage is convenient, the ultimate advantage of driverless cars is how much they’ll save human lives. There are on average six million vehicular collisions each year, and over three million injuries annually. Worse, 90 people die in car crashes every day. Car crashes of any severity cause massive headaches, but your death would be devastating to your loved ones. Driverless cars prevent tens of millions of vehicular fatalities by the end of the century.

More Time Back in Your Day

Since you’re not the one behind the wheel, you’ve opened up your time to use more productively. If you want to catch up on that assignment you’ve procrastinated on, wind down with some Netflix, or simply take a much-needed nap, you can now do so. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly a third of Americans don’t get enough sleep. Automated vehicles allow you to rest your eyes while on the road with little danger.

You Won’t Have to Own Your Own Car

But you’ll still get to go everywhere you need to. Driverless cars will be the new form of public transportation, except the cars will most likely be owned by a few companies. So instead of owning a car, which usually sits parked somewhere, and paying for gas and insurance on it, you’ll hop on a car that’s ready to go when you are. According to Adam Jonas, head of global auto research for Morgan Stanley, “Your car is arguably one of the most underutilized, polluting, time-consuming and dangerous machines on Earth,” so it makes sense to pay for rides, not the car itself.

Embrace the Driverless Future

Driverless cars are coming, and they’re here to stay. Get more time back in your day, prevent vehicular fatalities, and even help the environment by adopting driverless vehicles into your lifestyle. They’ll lower your transportation costs and your blood pressure too.