No Driver Needed

I remember seeing an illustration from the 50’s that showed a driver-less car containing a family of four playing dominoes on a coffee table. The car was a glass bubble and the seats were more like couches than car seats. My guess is that they were on a road trip and enjoyed the idea of transforming the car into a comfortable living room, thus making traveling less stressful.

Just yesterday I read an article about how the driver-less car was ready for the public. In fact, two states already allow driver-less cars on the road. The only real issue now is how insurance will work. Accidents will still happen even with computers driving and once one does, who is to blame? Should the passenger be at fault for trusting the computer to drive? Or is the manufacturer to blame for the accident because of the software or simply not being able to maneuver quickly enough to avoid the accident?

I don’t have the answer and frankly I couldn't care less. I understand it will ease families' busy schedule by having the Prius drop Timmy off at football practice and then run over to the school to pick up Mary from Girl Scouts; while mom stays at home making dinner. I understand the convenience of sleeping while the car drives through the night on long road trips to Disneyland. And I totally and completely support the idea of it acting as designated driver for those who've enjoyed a few too many at the bar. All wonderful uses for the self driving car, and I’m sure there are even more I’m overlooking. But honestly, I don’t care because it affects me a whopping nil. I’m not going to get nostalgic or preach about how the driver is vital to transportation because clearly it’s not. I will say that I won’t be a buyer simply because I would never let the computer have all the fun. I, like you, love driving. It’s an incredibly fun stress reliever and an experience I am not about to give up. As passengers of 2015 sip their Starbucks while reading from their Kindle on the way to work, that noisy rusty hot rod interrupting their favorite song will be yours truly. And while they’re stuck in the right lane doing a computer controlled 70 mph exactly, I’ll be passing by feeling the thrill of horsepower from having the pedal on the floor. These are the things that will be controlled, sooner or later, with a computer driving the car. The car manufacturers will want to protect themselves from a lawsuit so I bet you won’t be able to speed, you won’t be able to accelerate too quickly, and you especially won’t experience a burn-out or over-steer ever again. Some would argue that these actions are dangerous and it’ll be good that they’re gone because the roads will be safer; but not anyone who reads this blog or knows how drive well.