We are going to be like passengers in a taxi with smartphones in our own personal cars. A car that drives itself. Nevada Passes Law Permitting Autonomous Cars - KickingTires
I lived in rural NV for 14 years. You can drive for 60 miles on US 50 (the loneliest road in America) without seeing another car. Aside from within 50 miles of Vegas or Reno, pretty much all of NV is empty. 77% is Federal Government land. I am not sure you should judge all states laws by NV conditions.
How about that truck driver in NV that rammed into the Amtrak Zephyr? Think maybe he was on autopilot?
If anyone has actually seen this Google Prius driving it is pretty neat. When I saw it the driver was eating a sandwich with both hands. The car even changed lanes and passed a car. It was very neat.
It is cool, but I think most people want to drive the car themselves. I would use it on the interstate on a long trip, or when one gets tired, etc... But when they get this technology right, they will probably tell us that self-drive cars are safer than human drivers.
Hey this'll put me out of a job! I'm gonna call the Union rep. Oh hang on, I'm not in a Union but maybe I should be!
You may stay home and control the taxi with an App on your smartphone or hire someone just to collect the fares, or send the car alone to pick up the wife at work? I can see some prankster lay flat on the seat while other drivers report to the police of a car doing 70mph on the interstate without anybody in it. All kidding aside, IMO, the pleasure of a new car or any car is to be able to drive it, not to be driven in it as a passenger. I think eventually, the technology will be used like a driver's assistant. The system may alert the driver of red lights, stop signs, apply the brakes when necessary to avoid accidents, etc...
They already have that in a lot of higher-end cars. But in all reality, this is a great step forward. Hopefully someday autonomous driving modes will be available in every car. At that point, we can get a lot stricter on drivers license - Allow anyone to use a car autonomously (after all, does it matter if you're smashed when the car is making the decisions?), but restrict manual driving to those who really know what they're doing. Then, the people who really enjoy driving can do it... but have an accident, get caught drunk driving, speeding too often, or whatever and have that privilege taken away. Tie this into a city-wide (or even global!) traffic network, and we can help to eliminate rush hour traffic and other slowdowns. I think you'll find that most people will prefer to use an autonomous mode - having the ability to safely eat breakfast, read the paper, or even work on your laptop during your daily commute would be a godsend for many people. After all, what's the big deal with an hour long commute each way if you can spend the time working and only spend 6 hours actually in the office? Personally, I enjoy driving... but given the option, most of the time I'd let the car drive for me while I did something more productive.
Next we will be seeing Johnnycabs everywhere!! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H5k--n7sFI]YouTube - Total Recall Pivo Johnny Cab‏[/ame]
