"Leave the driving to us"

[zrath]

This was posted on a friend's LJ in reply to one of those "World Of Tomorrow" articles.
This particular article was "Life In The Year 2008" and was written in 1968.
I had a sort of epiphany...


I think I have gained an insight into why Americans don't seem to take driving seriously.
All these World Of Tomorrow articles always emphasize the automated highways and robot cars.
Americans don't want to drive, they just want to push a few buttons to program the car, then goof off playing poker or something.
Nowadays, they'd be talking or texting on their cellphones like mad, or surfing the Internet on their laptops.
I am aware that some people already do that.
Europeans are more involved in their driving. Driving education is tougher and more expensive.

I think distances also plays a factor. America is a big country, full of straight lines and gentle curves.
Europe is small and twisty and requires more driving acumen.

I am not ready to surrender my car to a robot.
I like being in control.


I can sort of see the appeal of computer highways and robot cars. It would cut down on the amount of idiots who
cut me off, throw themselves at me and my lil' truck, or just plain do absolutely some of the stupidest crap ever.
But I bet you the idiots who still find some way to screw things up.

You can pry the steering wheel from my cold dead hands! :D

Comments

[ihuitl.livejournal.com]

I find that the people who champion cars that drive themselves also tend to be the techno-geeks who are often on their laptops or cell phones or even iPods whilst driving in the first place. Having been a passenger in a car driven by one, I can assure you it is in everyone's interest to get these poor souls out of the driving loop by automating their rides. In the meantime, the rest of us who enjoy having skills beyond buttons and a screen can go back to driving ourselves without worrying about the car 'blue screening'.

[coyoteseven.livejournal.com]

I seriously doubt that an automated driving system AI would be run on a Windows PC platform. That would not only be overkill as far as computing power goes, but also wholly impractical.

Have you ever actually seen a real computer controlled car? It's an embedded system. It would likely use a real-time OS designed for such critical operations such as driving on a road or a highway. Anyone making such a system would be stupid to rely on a general purpose OS such as Windows.

Sorry, it's just that I saw a few assumptions being made here and I had to respond to that.

[ihuitl.livejournal.com]

Umm I was not speaking literally, but rather using 'blue screen' as a synonym for 'breaking'.

[coyoteseven.livejournal.com]

The kind of lawsuits you'd possibly see due to a faulty computer system causing traffic accidents and possibly deaths due to those accidents would cause such a debacle over their use. That's the main reason why I don't think you'd see them used, let alone made legal, anytime soon.

Like everything else, the technology will have to be proven safe before it is even considered. The closest we are right now to this is more like computer assisted driving, which includes things such as navigational aids and collision alarms. But the human driver is still the one in control of everything.

[kibbles.livejournal.com]

I don't even like cruise control. It makes me nervous. :(

[haystack.livejournal.com]

I hate cruise control. I'm not even very keen on automatic transmission... I -like- having to be in closer touch with my vehicle. :P

[coyoteseven.livejournal.com]

You are just fine with having an alternator, battery and cranking motor, yes? ;D

[haystack.livejournal.com]

Pretty much! I drove an '89 VW Fox GL Wagon for 8 years. No power steering. No power brakes. 4 on the floor. Fun little car to drive. :) Only amenity it had was air conditioning; I got the car in May, 2000, for super cheap ($650) and never was too upset that the A/C mostly didn't work...

[zeeth_kyrah]

Whereas I like cruise control until I'm in a pack of cars on the interstate (nobody ever keeps the same speed unless they're following someone) or entering an area with tight curves (I don't feel safe letting the car speed around that curve, even if I would go faster when I'm on the gas - cruise control doesn't understand how to slow down going in and speed up on the way out). If I know such things are ahead of me, I'll tap the brake to put the cruise on standby, and put foot-on-metal until the worry is past.

[kvogel.livejournal.com]

I prefer the European way of driving, in the sense that they are keen on situational awareness, rather than the numbly out-of-touch way all too many Americans drive.
But I really like cruise control and such as my other than local driving trips start at 10+ hours. To be alert over the long haul means keeping the driving tasks limited, and CC also REALLY helps with milage (and the health of my old ankle joints, one of these trips without CC can be crippling)
I suspect most Americans simply don't take driving seriously out of the sense of being too familiar. Everyone drives all the time everywhere, so what's the big deal? Having taken the act of driving for granted, they then do stupid "multi-tasking" or attempt to drive while impared.

[zrath.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Americans kinda fail at the whole situational awareness thing.
They're lucky that the roads are so wide and roomy and help absorb their mistakes.
Europe is much less forgiving in that respect: narrow roads, narrower streets.

I like cruise control and use it in moderation and in appropriate situation.
I get leg cramps easily, so driving for a full hour usually causes some pain.
Cruise control helps with that a lot.
One thing I enjoyed about renting Oldsmobile Intrigues for driving to conventions was that the cockpit was very generous and I could actually stretch my legs fully, which is unusual given my height and the way most cars are designed.
The Intrigue was a car I could have driven cross-country easily.
I was sad when Oldsmobile bit the big one. I was hoping Buick would buy it instead.
There's some ugly-ass bourgemobiles.

[duntov-475hp.livejournal.com]

I would be SO BORED if robots took over our cars. I mean, nothing is more entertaining to me than slammin' gears and runnin' amok going where I wanna go how I wanna go as fast as I wanna go.
What's odd is my 425 horsepower Camaro, I drive like a little ol' man. Get me in my 190 horsepower Grand Am... I am agressive... gimme my old 1988 Dodge Omni and I' a friggin' lunatic.

[zeeth_kyrah]

Perceived value vs speed-safety comfort factors. The more valuable the car in the driver's eyes, the slower and more careful the driver will go: don't wanna scratch my beautiful precious, but that old junker I'll slam around the road until it don't go no more.

[duntov-475hp.livejournal.com]

Exactly, I worry more about my car than I do myself. "A scratch on my skin will heal, but a scratch on the paint is expensive"
Besides, it's good to have the hot rod with the good rep with the police. They know I'll behave, so they don't suspect me as a bad person. Lot of guys in hot rods are pegged as street racers, it helps keep me out of trouble. That old puddlejumper of mine even driving like a maniac didn't seem to LOOK like I was driving like a maniac, just sort of a doggy little ride.