Cambridge 16 Writing Task 2 Test 4 - Sample Answers (Band 9 to 4-5)

Driverless vehicles promise to eliminate human error, currently the leading cause of road accidents, yet I believe that at the present stage of the technology's development, the disadvantages of removing human drivers entirely still outweigh the advantages.

The case for driverless vehicles rests primarily on safety. The vast majority of road accidents are caused by human factors such as fatigue, distraction, or impaired judgement, and autonomous systems, which do not tire and can react faster than humans in an emergency, could theoretically reduce road deaths dramatically once the technology matures. Reduced traffic congestion, achieved through vehicles communicating and coordinating their movements, is a further genuine benefit worth acknowledging.

However, I believe two serious problems currently outweigh these benefits. First, the transition would eliminate millions of driving jobs worldwide, from taxi and lorry drivers to bus operators, displacing workers who often have few comparable alternative skills and causing genuine economic hardship on a large scale. Second, and more fundamentally, legal and ethical questions surrounding liability remain unresolved: when a driverless vehicle is involved in an accident, it is still unclear whether responsibility should fall on the manufacturer, the software developer, or the vehicle's owner, and no jurisdiction has yet established a comprehensive legal framework to answer this.

These unresolved questions matter because trust in the technology depends on clear accountability, and without it, public acceptance is likely to remain limited regardless of how statistically safe the vehicles eventually prove to be. Until legal frameworks catch up with the technology and credible retraining programmes exist for displaced workers, I believe the risks of widespread adoption outweigh the safety benefits.

In conclusion, while driverless vehicles offer a genuine long-term safety benefit by removing human error from driving, I believe the current disadvantages, particularly job losses and unresolved liability questions, outweigh the advantages until these issues are properly addressed.

Driverless vehicles could reduce accidents caused by human error, but I believe that at the moment, the disadvantages of removing human drivers still outweigh the advantages.

The main advantage of driverless vehicles is safety. Most road accidents happen because of human mistakes such as tiredness or distraction, and vehicles controlled by computers do not get tired and can react quickly in dangerous situations. This could reduce road deaths significantly once the technology is fully developed. Reduced traffic congestion is another benefit, since vehicles could communicate with each other to move more efficiently.

However, I think two problems currently outweigh these benefits. First, millions of driving jobs, such as taxi and lorry drivers, would be lost, and many of these workers would struggle to find similar alternative work. Second, it is still unclear who would be responsible if a driverless vehicle caused an accident, whether it would be the manufacturer, the software company, or the vehicle owner, and no country has yet created clear laws about this.

These unresolved legal questions matter because people need to trust the technology before they will accept it widely, and this trust depends on clear rules about who is responsible when something goes wrong.

In conclusion, while driverless vehicles could improve road safety in the long run, I believe the current disadvantages, especially job losses and unclear legal responsibility, outweigh the advantages for now. Once these legal and employment issues are properly addressed, however, the balance may well shift, since the safety benefits of removing human error from driving are difficult to dispute in the long term.

In the future, driverless vehicles may become common on the roads. I do not think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages at the moment.

One advantage is safety. Most accidents happen because drivers make mistakes, such as being tired or not paying attention, but computers do not get tired and can react faster. This could make roads safer in the future. Traffic could also move more smoothly if vehicles communicate with each other.

However, there are also serious disadvantages. Many people work as drivers, such as taxi and lorry drivers, and these jobs would disappear if vehicles become driverless. Also, it is not clear who would be responsible if a driverless vehicle caused an accident, the company that made it, the software company, or the owner.

Because of this, I think people would not trust driverless vehicles completely until these problems are solved.

In conclusion, I believe driverless vehicles could be safer in the future, but right now, the disadvantages, such as job losses and unclear responsibility, are bigger than the advantages. Governments and companies developing this technology would need to work together to create clear laws about responsibility and to offer retraining programmes for drivers who lose their jobs, before the public is likely to accept driverless vehicles on a large scale. Without these changes, many people will probably remain cautious about trusting a vehicle with no human driver at all, regardless of how advanced the technology becomes, since safety statistics alone are unlikely to be enough to change public opinion overnight.

In the future, driverless vehicle may become common on the road. I do not think the advantage outweigh the disadvantage at the moment.

One advantage is safety. Most accident happen because driver make mistake, such as being tired or not paying attention, but computer do not get tired and can react faster. This could make road safer in the future. Traffic could also move more smoothly if vehicle communicate with each other.

However, there is also serious disadvantage. Many people work as driver, such as taxi and lorry driver, and this job would disappear if vehicle become driverless. Also, it is not clear who would be responsible if a driverless vehicle cause an accident, the company that made it, the software company, or the owner.

Because of this, I think people would not trust driverless vehicle completely until this problem is solved.

In conclusion, I believe driverless vehicle could be safer in the future, but right now, the disadvantage, such as job loss and unclear responsibility, is bigger than the advantage. Government and company developing this technology would need to work together to create clear law about responsibility and to offer retraining programme for driver who lose their job, before the public is likely to accept driverless vehicle on a large scale. Without this change, many people will probably remain cautious about trusting a vehicle with no human driver at all, regardless of how advanced the technology become, since safety statistic alone is unlikely to be enough to change public opinion overnight.