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Summary Practice - Self Driving

This document discusses how driving and vehicle ownership may change in the future with the rise of self-driving cars and ride-sharing. Self-driving cars could help reduce traffic and allow passengers to be productive during commutes. Ride-sharing is already popular and could evolve to use fleets of self-driving cars without human drivers. While some believe people will still want to own personal vehicles for certain tasks or recreational driving, others think self-driving cars and public transportation options may replace private car ownership over time in a gradual process of changing expectations and relationships with automobiles.

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Jaehjoon 12
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35 views

Summary Practice - Self Driving

This document discusses how driving and vehicle ownership may change in the future with the rise of self-driving cars and ride-sharing. Self-driving cars could help reduce traffic and allow passengers to be productive during commutes. Ride-sharing is already popular and could evolve to use fleets of self-driving cars without human drivers. While some believe people will still want to own personal vehicles for certain tasks or recreational driving, others think self-driving cars and public transportation options may replace private car ownership over time in a gradual process of changing expectations and relationships with automobiles.

Uploaded by

Jaehjoon 12
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Driving in the future will look very different

By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff on 12.03.14


Word Count 481
Level 580L

A row of Google self-driving cars are shown outside the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. For the first time,
California's Department of Motor Vehicles knows how many self-driving cars are traveling on the state's public roads. The agency issued
permits in September that let three companies test 29 vehicles on highways and in neighborhoods. AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File

LOS ANGELES — Someday we might not own cars. We may not even drive them.

In the future, cars will drive themselves. It could cause a revolution in how we get around.

Traffic jams are increasing. Self-driving cars could lead to less traffic. And if you are stuck in
traffic, you can do something while your car drives you.

Ride-sharing is becoming popular in cities. Using a phone, a person can ask for a car to pick them
up. A driver knows where the person is through GPS. It uses satellites to pinpoint where someone
is. Nearly every cellphone has GPS now. If a driver is close by, they can pick up a passenger. They
just pay for the ride, like a taxi.

In the future, ride-sharing could be different. Instead of a human driver, a robot might make the
pickup. Or people might rent a self-driving car from a large fleet of them. Cars may be left in big
parking lots. People could take a car when it is needed. Garages would no longer be necessary.
Buying cars could even become a thing of the past.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.


Cars Mean Freedom

The Los Angeles Auto Show this week offered a look into the future. Driverless cars were there to
be seen.

Already, the cars can park themselves. They can slam on the brakes to avoid crashes. And they can
adjust steering to stay in the center of a lane.

For a century, cars have meant freedom. They were a sign of wealth. In the future, cars may
become just another type of public transportation, like a bus or a train.

Google is already building experimental self-driving cars. They are not for sale.

Cars might look very different in the future, said Harald Belker. He used to work at Mercedes-
Benz. Now, he creates cars for movies set in the future, including “Iron Man 2 and “Total Recall.”

“You can have a two-seater where the passengers face each other,” Belker said.

Warming Up To Coming Changes

Not everyone believes self-driving cars will take over the roads.

Beau Boeckmann runs a car dealership. He thinks there will always be people who want to own a
car and drive it. The car is something "people fall in love with.” He thinks people will let the car
drive itself in traffic. Then they can drive it when it is fun to drive.

James Lentz works for Toyota. He believes people will still want to own cars. Some might travel
long distances each day. Others might have a big family to haul around and things to move.

Peter Schwartz writes about how businesses will look in the future. He says cars will slowly take
over more of the driving. Over time, the feelings people have for their cars will fade away.

It will happen in stages, he said. “You don’t have to make one big leap.”

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

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