Driving is supposed to be about freedom, but as the years go by, being ‘free' behind the wheel increasingly becomes a myth. How do we fight back?
It seems like we're steadily marching towards a driverless future. We think that will be one of the best things to ever happen to driving enthusiasts, completely separating recreational driving from commuting and running errands.
But what about the process of getting towards that driverless future? How do we handle when the government increasingly takes most, but not all control away from the driver? Gometz thought that we should scrap these efforts and lobby for safety through driver education.
Avoiding the real problem: education.
I see people drive like idiots every. single. day. Tailgating, texting, not signaling, not looking before merging/changing lanes, etc...
Driving tests need to be far more difficult, and laws should be far harsher for space discipline. People are so used to driving that they forget that they need to pay constant attention to the 2+ ton hunk of metal and plastic that they are piloting at 60 mph. It might be an appliance to some people, but that is no excuse.
This is moving the issue of inattentive drivers to the cars. Instead of requiring everyone to get better education (since this would be a state issue and they cannot control this), they are making cars more expensive and complex.
Pdoten saw problems with this plan, given America's need for cars.
While I agree with you philosophically I just don't think it is practical for at least two reasons.
1. For a very, very large amount of the population in this country a car is pretty much a necessity. On a long enough timeline I suppose this will change but I imagine if you enacted tougher testing right away you would see WAY more people driving without a license.
2. Autonomous cars are on the horizon. Really all this tech they are talking about is part of that. Driver training isn't an issue anymore, neither is responsible behavior or distracted driving, drunk driving etc.
What do you think can be done to preserve (or regain) our freedom behind the wheel?
Photo Credit: Hennessey