To Let a Blind Person “Drive?”

With autonomous vehicles approaching the eventual public release, one subject remains at hand; Would the un-licensed drivers be able to get behind the wheel of these cars?
In North Carolina, to be able to enroll in drivers education classes you must be at least 14 and a half and to have a permit you must be 15. With the potential for these self driving cars on the road truly at both large safety and efficiency advantages, there has been talk of who will be able to start the engine. According to surveys run by a group known as the Open Roboethics Initiative, 52% of respondents agreed that children under the legal driving age should not be allowed to operate the car alone, however 58% agree that a legally blind person should be allowed to do so. While some may object to these opinions, I must go on and agree with them.

What I feel the survey lacks is inclusion of certain factors, such as how for one thing while it is of common knowledge that a child in the front seat is dangerous to their life in the result of an accident, it does not mean that the child would necessarily be in the front seat of this car. With this comes what I feel are some of the main points to keep in mind that the potential use to get those without normal capability to get from point A to point B, arises with putting the situations into place. An elderly person would be able to safely get behind the wheel, and with the car controlling the actions, it adds freedoms to those that otherwise wouldn’t have such. A person with no vision would be able to feel more of a part of an independent lifestyle as they would be able to get themselves where they need to go. With that in mind I feel that such technology would benefit greatly those without the common means to get around in traditional vehicles, but with this efficiency at hand, I must agree with the opinion of allowing disabled to operate the autonomous cars.