This blog will expand on themes and topics first mentioned in my book, "The Automobile and American Life." I hope to comment on recent developments in the automobile industry, reviews of my readings on the history of the automobile, drafts of my new work, contributions from friends, descriptions of the museums and car shows I attend and anything else relevant. Copyright 2009-2020, by the author.
Popular Posts
-
My 1971 Porsche 911T Targa Written for younger readers: Sports car is an automobile designed more for performance than for carrying passeng...
-
Hi folks -- I was visiting with Ed Garten on Friday morning at a local Panera in Beavercreek, Ohio when Ed noticed that a Mary Kay Cadillac ...
-
So what is a rat rod? These are becoming increasingly popular, as witenssed by the several at the Friday night cruise in and today at the C...
-
Hi Folks -- Visiting back in Centerville, I read the Dayton Daily News this rainy Easter morning and found an rather lengthy article on Donk...
-
Raising an Alarm The wave of auto thefts in the early 1970s and the failure of manufacturers to make prod...
Sunday, January 3, 2016
Do we really want self-driving cars?
Yes, I am a dinosaur! And that is especially true about preferences related to cars and driving. In yesterday's Dayton Daily News I read an article by Justin Pritchard entitled "California drafts cautious set of rules for self-driving cars." (DDN, Wheels, p.2). I was particularly struck by this paragraph:
"Google believes the safest path is to take people out of the equation by having control limited to stop and go buttons, with the leader of Google's project saying that humans are "the bug" in the driving task."
The groups pushing for self-driving cars use the moniker of safety as the reason to undertake this technological revolution. This assertion is yet to be proven. BUT more significantly, the very foundations of automobility center of freedom, autonomy, and deep psychological gratification associated with getting in the car and determining one's location in space and time. Personally I love driving and the ART of driving. Sure in urban settings driving is a chore, and from experiencing LA traffic I can see why self-driving vehicles have an allure. But even in driving in cities, there are moments of joy in hitting a curve a certain way, in moving from lane to lane -- essentially in determining my own way in life.
So this envisioned new way of experiencing personal transport is not from me. Not that it matters what I think, but the transition to self-driving cars brings with potentially profound alterations in psychological and sociological behaviors that certainly will lather the meaning of what it means to be human.
I WANT TO DRIVE MY CARS!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Thanks for sharing post, Tracknwheels is a leading independent portal for pre owned machinery, truck , bus , car , bike with a reliable worldwide
ReplyDeletedelivery services in Great India. http://www.tracknwheels.com/
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteNice Blog Post, Thanks For Sharing info... Auto Electrician Christchurch provide the best Tyres and Fitting Services at very Cheap rate. We aim at customer's satisfaction .