Yes, apparently this car is able to drive itself...really! Twice in the last week, Ron and I have seen one of the Google self-driving cars on the road. The first time was last Friday on the streets of San Francisco. Today, we saw one of the Google self-driving Lexus cars on our way home while we were driving on I 880 N. Both times there was actually someone sitting in the driver's seat. I can't be certain, but both times it appeared that the person sitting in the driver's seat did NOT have his/her hands on the steering wheel. Tonight, the person sitting in the car was on her phone. Is that ok? I mean, she wasn't burdened with the task of keeping her eyes on the road I guess. Are there different rules for people in self-driving cars?
I'm not sure why we need a car that will drive itself. Sure it would be great for people with vision or mobility problems, but since it's very unlikely that these people will be able to afford what is sure to be a very expensive car, why is this practical? Some people argue that driver-less cars will reduce traffic accidents and wasted commuter time. Other people think that this is fairly impractical. It seems that the UK is getting in on the act and a team at Oxford University is working on a less expensive version of the driver-less car and will be competing with the US technology.
I'm not sure how I feel about all of this. I will say that it has made me feel uncomfortable to be driving alongside these cars. I don't think I like it. Besides, whatever happened to idea of flying cars? I think I would feel a little better about seeing this car flying above the road....
What do you think?
1 comment:
I think the self-driving cars are neat. No passing on the wrong side, no speeding, no road rage ...
As to flying cars, I read once that a car body shape is wrong for flying.
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