drivesme.JPGAny driver who grew up in one state but now resides in a different one will believe the natives of his current state to be the worst drivers anywhere. Californians who now live in Utah think Utahns are the worst drivers; Texans who live in Ohio think Ohioans are the worst drivers; Georgians who live in New Jersey think New Jerseyans are the worst drivers. But the fact is, generally speaking, drivers are about the same everywhere: some good ones, and a lot of bad ones. Now is the part where you post a comment saying, “But [state of choice] drivers really ARE the worst drivers!!” Just know that I’m not listening, because you’re wrong.

–Eric D. Snider

The problem with driving is not Utah drivers or California drivers or even drivers from Montana. The problem with driving is drivers. It’s the octogenarian in the fast lane putting along at 35MPH. It’s the cellphone-chatting-soccer-mom careening her minivan through all lanes of traffic to make an exit. It’s the semi-trucks who travel three abreast, forming a 65MPH roadblock.

Again, the problem with driving is people.

Of all the broken promises of technology, the automobile, with its persistent lack of innovation, never fails to disappoint. If Henry Ford were to come back to life he could climb inside a 2007 car and feel right at home. Nothing much has changed in his invention in the last 100 years. Cars still use regular gasoline. They still have internal combustion engines and they still get about 20MPG (actually, the 1908 Model T Ford got upwards of 30MPG.) Sure, there have been a few, token upgrades to automobile technology (such as fuel injection and air-conditioning), but nothing really revolutionary. Where are the electric vehicles we were promised? Where are the hovering space-cars? At the very least, we should be able, in the 21st century, to eliminate traffic jams.

Current wisdom suggests we build wider, more complicated roads to ease traffic congestion. I think that approach is short-sighted. There must be a better way. How about eliminating human drivers altogether. Just as most of us prefer email (routed by computers) to regular/snail mail (still routed largely by people), we’d all profit from a system where cars were not human driven.

Imagine this scenario: you program where you’d like to go into your car, and then divert your attention to something else– perhaps a nap, perhaps a book. You car computes the optimal path to your destination considering the current road conditions before guiding itself onto the freeway. Your car zips along, just inches away from the other cars, but that’s ok, because computers have much faster reaction times than people. Cars that break down are quickly shuttled to the side of the road and a tow truck is automatically summoned. These new super-cars calculate how much gas they need for a trip before starting, and fill themselves up at service stations (so there will no longer be broken-down cars to the side of the road out of gas.) If you like, you can even ask for a scenic trip and you’ll get routed to less-used back roads, where you can slow your speed and appreciate the view, all without interfering with others or ever laying your hand on a steering wheel.

What do you think? Are you with me?