Get
in your car, close the door, put foot on brake, check mirrors, key in ignition,
start engine, and then put in drive and go.
That is a typical start to any one person’s day. Except that’s all about to change. The autonomous vehicle is quickly becoming
the idea from the future that is making it into the present. A few years about Google received some
publicity for having autonomous, self-driving cars in its fleet of plug in
Priuses. The idea is pretty simple. Tell the GPS system where you want to go and
the car will find the best route and take you there with no other input from
the occupant. Audi has even more recently become the first automotive
manufacturer to get state licensing to have self-driving cars on public roads
in the state of Nevada. An Audi TT even
managed to drive itself up Pikes Peak.
Does this mean that driving ourselves around in our own vehicles is a
thing of the past? And what about those of us that enjoy driving? Are we doomed
to obey the wills of our machines?
First,
let’s answer why autonomous cars are being investigated as possible. When the automobile was first conceived it
was a small relatively slow moving machine.
Most the parts were from bicycles.
There was a chance in the event of an accident a driver could be thrown
from the vehicle but it would more than likely just result in a few bumps and bruises. The idea of a pedestrian being hit by one of
these loud machines seems very unlikely.
Skip ahead over a century of development and modern cars are tanks. Even the slowest new car sold in the United
States today can easily accomplish speeds over 80mph and in fact there are few
that don’t have the ability to hit 100 given the right amount of road. Cars are also built today with large cages to
protect the passengers from danger resulting in automobiles that weigh several
tons. As a result of the added weight,
modern cars also need larger output from their drivetrains. From an engineering standpoint we have hit a
wall. We cannot keep adding size to
increase strength which then in turn makes cars more powerful because the more
powerful heavier car becomes less safe in an accident or to pedestrians. Car manufactures have realized this dilemma
and they see that it’s the driver, not the machine, which is really the
danger. As long as a machine, any
machine, is functioning properly it cannot make a mistake. Humans make mistakes. I have a great example from my local town
news. In my town recently an older woman
drove her SUV all the way into a local chain restaurant’s front door. She had mistaken the gas pedal for the brake
pedal. In this case there was only one
injury. Her husband sitting in the passenger
seat was slightly injured. However, one
shutters to think what would have happened if she had crashed one minute
earlier and a group of customers had been waiting in the lobby to be seated for
Sunday lunch. The results could have
been the death of one or more people.
The drivers of today are a distracted bunch. Too concerned about what is happening on
their cell phones, or how their makeup looks, or just letting their mind wander
instead of paying attention to the task at hand. By taking the controls of the vehicle away
from drivers, manufacturers believe they can make roadways safer and more
productive.
If
all cars on the road were autonomous, traffic could be kept at a minimum. Computers could decide the fastest way to
move the number of cars on the fastest paths to avoid congestion. Human drivers are more interested in cutting
people off and getting there first. Cars
equipped with this technology could even make corrections for drivers. If a driver is not paying attention to an obstacle
and attempts to avoid it too late, the computer would take over and auto-correct
for the driver to avoid either under-correcting or over-correcting. Everyone remains safer.
Yet,
even with these advantages the controlling part of my personality is not
convinced in this view of the future. I feel
many automotive enthusiasts will agree with me that they like having control of
their vehicle. I rarely even use cruise
control. I don’t like the feeling of
something else directing my car. I don’t
enjoy automatic transmissions because I want to say what gear to be in even if I
am wrong. Insurance companies also have
reasons to question this line of equipment in vehicles. Autonomous cars can only diminish not eliminate
car crashes. Where does the blame go
when there is a crash? The driver who was not alert enough to avoid another
vehicle, or the on board computer that did too little to correct the actions
the driver took?
I
do want to make one compromise to automotive companies and government law
makers. Allow some of the car buying
public to have these autonomous cars.
Let them be free from themselves and their dangerous habits. Take away their licenses altogether if you
like. Then introduce a higher level of
education and restrictions for those of us who want to drive our own
vehicles. I would gladly become
certified to be allowed to drive 90mph on the interstate instead of 70. I would feel safer knowing that only those
with proper training and properly maintained vehicles were allowed to drive on the
same roads that I am. Under current laws
and regulations the cars and roads are supposed to be safe but dangerous
drivers negate these rules.
If
you are an automotive enthusiast (car nut) like I am I know you do not want to
lose your privilege to drive. Driving is
a joy for you and to me. I do not want
to see autonomous cars become a threat to that enjoyment because of the actions
of the few. If we like this cause to
that of the gun lover we can organize safety training and proper regulation
that only safe people would be allowed behind the wheel. A gun in the wrong hands is dangerous of
course but so is a car. Our right to own
and operate a car is not protected and that scares me more than anything.
