Government-Mandated Autonomous Cars: Science Fiction Or Coming Soon?
Volkswagen Golf R Cabrio Patent Photos Revealed
What to do if you love the Volkswagen Golf R, but just can't do without a drop-top car for summer?... Read More
- #3LEADERBOARD RANK
- 5443ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED
- 205COMMENTS POSTED
Add to circle
BMW i3 Concept
Also See
-
2012 BMW 3-Series Vs. 2013 Cadillac ATS: A Look...
-
Overview Of Mercedes-Benz's 4Matic All-Wheel...
-
Mercedes-Benz 4Matic All-Wheel Drive: How It...
See more video »
The idea of an iRobot (the movie, not the book)-like future where only the renegades drive their own cars may be fast approaching. BMW's i range of cars offers some ready-for-prime-time autonomy, and VW's recent Auto Pilot demo shows just how close we already are to production driverless cars. Today, talk from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows the agency is very keen on technology that can take the danger out of drivers' hands.
Volvo's City Safety feature, which aims to avoid or minimize the impact of low-speed accidents in urban environments, isn't quite as far-reaching as the VW Auto Pilot system or even BMW's i range technologies. But it could soon see adoption as a mandatory safety feature on all new cars.
NHTSA chief David Strickland, for instance, has pitched the progression of safety from kids riding in adults' laps four or five decades ago to the advanced safety seats, restraint systems, and other common and/or mandatory safety technology our cars now feature as the result of government leadership interacting with safety advocates and the innovators themselves.
With the NHTSA's all-encompassing focus on cutting the injury and mortality statistics of our nation's fleet of cars, we could be looking at the first stepping stone to mandatory self-driving car technology. That, to us, is a sad prospect.
Personal transportation is a practical necessity--most of America has been built around the existence of the automobile. But taking drivers out of the equation, while possibly making the roads safer, takes away all of the joy the freedom of personal transportation engenders.
If America's drivers are so unsafe, why not respond with stricter licensing requirements, better driver education, even mandatory accident avoidance training? With better car handling skills and greater awareness of the dynamics of an out-of-control vehicle, both of which inspire greater awareness of one's surroundings while driving, we could significantly reduce the safety issues without eliminating the fun.
Not that The Fun Suckers care about our enjoyment--but we do. Sound off in the comments below if you are against mandatory technologies that take control of the car out of the drivers' hands--or if you're in support of them. Just bring a new (and good) reason to justify them.
[Automotive News -- sub. req., NHTSA (pdf file)]
Connect with Facebook
Related Articles
-
Nevada Assigns Driverless Cars A Red License Plate
-
Google Awarded U.S. Patent For Driverless Car Tech
-
2014 BMW i3: Autonomous Urban Driving Nearly With Us?
-
You Don't Own, You Don't Even Drive: The Future Of Cars?
-
Follow Us
On Facebook
2013 Ford Shelby GT500: First Drive 
2013 BMW 4-Series Coupe Spy Shots 
Next-Gen Mazda MX-5 To Spawn New Alfa Romeo Spider: Official 
2014 BMW X5 Spy Shots 
Have an opinion?Join the conversation!
I totally get the fun of driving and the desire to continue doing it. Perhaps we'll get more public tracks to experience the fun of driving in a safer, controlled environment.
But for me it comes down to this: if you choose to risk your life and die, it's sad. But if you risk the lives of others for fun and kill someone, you should go to jail. How many deaths will be enough once we have the tech to avoid them?
Have an opinion?Join the conversation!