I Want To Drive

©CarsYeah

 

Who really wants a car that drives itself? Every time I read an article about this technology I wonder, under what circumstances would I ever want my car to take me somewhere as I sit idle sipping my coffee and reading emails. Do we really need this? Anybody? Hello?

Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

I’ve never been a good passenger. I am sure this is about being in control, but mostly I really enjoy driving. I am always working on pulling away as smoothly as possible and driving in to a corner and hitting the apex perfectly and letting the wheel unwind. I love coming to a stop in a way that nobody in the car realizes we’ve quit moving, and while driving on the freeway I try to pass as many cars as possible before I have to exit. It feels good to be as smooth as possible, never splashing the water out of the bathtub.

Don’t break that egg under my foot.

The idea of relinquishing control to my car and sitting back, out of control, makes me feel ill. I’m not going to do it and you can’t make me. I understand there are elements of this technology that can be applied to make my car safer but I’m doing the driving and that’s that. If I don’t want to drive…

That’s what public transit is for.

What say you? Will people need special permits to operate these cars? Ready to be a passenger?

 

8 comments

  1. ‘Even an ‘Ultimate Driving Machine’ sometimes needs to go where I’d rather not …

    “… A new autonomous driving system designed specifically for traffic jams may sound like a somewhat limited application of autonomous driving, but low-speed stop-and-go traffic is exhausting for motorists, and as a result, it causes thousands of accidents, injuries, and fatalities every year. …”

  2. I thought for sure I’d agree with you 100%. Especially since my driveway is filled with Alfa Romeos, my passion is cars, I love to drive, and wandering back roads and small towns is something I try to do much of the time. Then I got to that last sentence about Public Transportation, and started thinking. I still wanted to agree, especially as I use Public Transportation to get to and from work often enough. The only way to improve Public Transportation is if it comes to my house, and takes me directly to wherever I’m going. This would be timely, convenient, and would enable me to work during the drudgery of a traffic filled commute. Wait a minute, that might be what a driverless car is for! When I head to anyplace fun, or just go out to explore, of course I’d take the Alfa Romeo. Maybe you commute using one of those new automatic transmissions, but I don’t. I love the cross & serpent but becoming a Google passenger in select situations sounds better than wearing out my Italian clutch in dull traffic. Send my driverless car ’round at commute time, thank you very much.

  3. When I commute at “rush hour” (HaHa!), it is about 2 hours (mid-day, it is about 25 minutes). Even clutch skills get boring after a while (and my Italian clutches have lasted much longer than my Japanese clutch–go figure!). The only fun thing that has happened (twice!) is that I have passed Lotuses–I was whizzing along at about 3 mph and they were doing a measly 2 mph–but I still got bragging rights! And my interchange has a fun, fast curve, often enough without traffic. Many mornings I think that I would gladly hook onto an autonomous “train,” and still have my car available for the more interesting things after work–an advantage over current forms of public transportation, which no longer runs when I get off work.

  4. Under certain circumstances, a self driving car would almost be a necessity for:
    A person who otherwise should not be driving must get around.
    A handicapped person who cannot drive without expensive modifications that are too expensive for their income level.
    Emergency situations requiring a non-driver to get someone to a hospital, etc.
    Do I want one now? – NO!
    However, I do want to be able to get around when I no longer should be driving. At that time, I would want such a car.

  6. I thought perhaps this opinion would run counter to prevailing opinion. It appears to be surprisingly close to the sentiments of the other commenters.
    Brings to mind the horse in old Westerns that returned to the livery barn until needed later on to take the rider home from the bar.

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