De La Salle University

Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business

Management and Organization Department

Written Report Submitted

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in
International Business
(INB610M)

Reaction Paper

Submitted to:
Dr. Beatriz K. Tscheopke

Submitted by:
Fernando M. Vergara II

Submitted on:
January 11, 2017
 While I do agree on some points that driverless cars would bring about some
benefits, I still have this lingering feeling that this approach may not be the best for
all of us. Yes, it would merit that driverless cars could indeed reduce the number of
accidents in the road given that machines are not subject to physical factors that a
normal human body would have to endure. Furthermore, machines have faster
coordination and can process more complex algorithms, which ultimately leads to
them having a faster reaction time in the car over that of a human driver. However,
this argument that driverless cars are better for the entire population fails to
consider several factors.

First, we look at cars based on our own different needs. Some people just view cars
as a means of transportation. For these people, it doesnt matter what car they are
in, as long as they get to their intended destination. There are also those that loath
or prefer to avoid driving. For these people, they would opt to have other people to
drive their car for them. These types of people will probably appreciate public
transport or even ride sharing apps such as Uber and Grab because they dont need
to be the ones actually steering the vehicle. However, on the other side of the
spectrum, some people buy cars not just to be able to get to one point to another,
but also because they enjoy driving. For these car enthusiasts, driverless cars would
likely be a taboo concept for them.

Furthermore, I dont think that driverless cars would lead to less traffic congestion
by reducing street widths. Given that the concept of driverless cars would still retain
the current state of vehicle ownership, wherein a person owns the car and parks it,
this would still likely cause us the same levels of headache brought about by traffic.
To put it in perspective, if we were to apply driverless cars to our own country, then
what we are essentially tackling are the accidents caused by recklessness or poor
calculation in judgement, not necessarily traffic. This is because what the proposal
targets is essentially removing the driver on the car, no more, no less. Thus, the
same problems that we have such as illegal parking, will still be there.

Lastly, I think one important thorn on this dream of a having driverless cars in the
Philippines would be costs. Anything technology heavy would entail quite a
premium. Given the current income situation in the Philippines, I believe that even if
driverless cars were introduced in the country, the high price would be prohibitive
for the vast majority of the population. Thus, even if driverless cars were put into
the streets, they would still be a minority and be engulfed by the traditional driver
operated vehicles. Thus, the promised benefits of having a driverless city would not
likely materialize given that they are still restricted by factors outside their control
such as the driving behavior of the other cars.

Though I feel that having driverless cars have real world benefits, this would not be
as impactful as we think it would be. Of course, driverless cars would have a huge
effect on the commuting class, as well as for people who drive long distances often.
We cannot deny that having intelligent cars would have a direct positive relationship
to vehicle safety. However, to realize the full benefits, we would have to assume
that the other cars in the road are also in the same technological level. However,
this can be more of a dream given that people will be reluctant to give away their
hold of the steering wheel to a machine. As the popular saying goes, A chain is only
as strong as its weakest link. And with this, I believe that the success of driverless
vehicles largely depends on having the participation of a vast majority of motorists
if it wants to be more than just a novel idea.