I have some serious reservations about these so-called “self-driving cars” that are already being operated on our highways and byways and the so-called “driverless trucks” that will soon be unleashed upon our nation’s highways. You won’t see me motoring around in a self-driving Mottmobile anytime soon. Already, there have been some serious problems with ones being highway tested.
Researchers and manufacturers are under the impression that the introduction of self-driving vehicles will somehow make our roads safer. After all, an estimated 94 percent of motor vehicle accidents are thought to involve some kind of human error. Since they operate using computer technology, it is thought by some that they may reduce the occurrence of driving mistakes and thus the number of car crashes. However, there is some concern that self-driving vehicles may be vulnerable to computer hackers.
For example, one of Google’s highly touted test vehicles was doing what it was supposed to when it slowed to allow a pedestrian to cross a crosswalk. Unfortunately, the so-called “safety driver” of the self-driving car applied the brakes…Bam! The pedestrian was fine, but not the “safety driver” nor the “Googlemobile,” which was rear-ended by an actual human-driven vehicle. Even if they were functioning properly, the so-called Googlemobile and its brother, the Waymo, are goofy looking, especially with that wacky spinning contraption on the roof. Man, you wouldn’t find me dead in one.
Something else to consider… Since the Googlemobile is designed to stay within the painted lines on the highway or freeway, what happens when there are no discernable lines, like when the road is covered in snow or when the lines have been scraped off by a snowplow?
You won’t find me inside or even near a self-driving vehicle anytime soon. It’s already scarry enough when my wife is behind the wheel of the Mottmobile. It’s bad enough that I learned how to drive by driving bumper cars at the Balboa Fun Zone and at Disneyland’s Junior Autopia, but my wife learned how to drive at Rose Hills Cemetery in her hometown of Whittier. At least she picked a location where she wouldn’t have to go far to be memorialized and then buried.
Baby, you can drive my car, yes I’m gonna be a star. Baby, you can drive my car and maybe I’ll love you…Beep, beep ‘m, beep, beep, yeah. (“Drive My Car” – The Beatles – 1965)
Keep it flyin’,
Uncle Mott
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