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Is India Banning Autonomous Cars Already?

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Nissan GT-R offers a #LegendarySalute to IndiaAutonomous cars are most certainly on their way to the highways of the world. How fast they will be ready to drive depends on who you ask, but some features are already popping up in cars for sale now. For instance, Nissan cars equipped with ProPILOT can cruise down the highway with only a bit of assistance from drivers. While some of us see this as exciting technology, others see it as a major problem. One of those people is India’s Nitin Gadkari, the minister in charge of the country’s roads.

According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, 146,133 people lost their lives to traffic accidents in 2015 with more than half a million accidents reported in India. However, Gadkari is not against autonomous cars because he is worried about safety. He is more concerned about the many jobs that will be lost if no one needed drivers to move people and goods around the country.

As The Washington Post pointed out, this is actually a discussion that every country will have to have before autonomous cars are unleashed on the road. Studies have predicted that self-driving cars will lead to more car-sharing, reducing the amount of cars on the road and also the amount of people that don’t have access to a car and need taxis. India is known for horrible traffic and car-related pollution, so a reduction of cars on the road could be a great thing for everyone’s health. Right now, however, the government is focusing on what its people need at this moment. This will surely happen in many other countries around the world as governments realize the impact self-driving cars will have on the vast number of people whose jobs rely on driving.

News Source: The Washington Post