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Why this blog?
Until this moment I have been forced to listen while media and politicians alike have told me "what Canadians think". In all that time they never once asked.
This is just the voice of an ordinary Canadian yelling back at the radio -
"You don't speak for me."
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So how close is the CBC building from the nearest Volvo dealership?
There are ‘smart cars’, and then there are very smart cars.
” if they are to avoid crashing into pedestrians, too, then owners must pay extra. ”
Why is that an option ?
Cyclists, yeah I could understand that, but pedestrians ???
One would have thought that pedestrian avoidance would have been a core function, not an option.
Anyone that knows anything about computers and sensors would know that self driving cars are impossible for a long, long, time … if ever. I know there is a “gee-wiz” factor on a car that can do a parallel park … but really, if a computer/sensor combination can do it, so can the stupidest person on Earth … if they can’t – they shouldn’t be driving.
BTW: I still waiting for the flying cars they said were “the next thing” in the 50’s and 60’s.
What’s the big deal? That’s basically how everyone parks at Costco.
“…if they can’t – they shouldn’t be driving”
And that is exactly the point they don’t want us driving. When they are finished with guns, cars are next.
Hopefully this video enjoys a long internet life.
I like my gadgets and conveniences as much as anyone, but there are several impulses converging in the notion of driverless cars. The replacement of humans by machines in decision making and active control (not just sensors and assisting aids). Helicopter parenting / nanny statism micromanagement of our lives. Learned helplessness.
Much as I’d love to just recline the seat and chill during commutes, this philosophical/ideological undercurrent needs to be resisted. On the bright side, the hyperactive tort industry will have a field day turning every hiccup with a driverless car into a multi-million dollar liability lawsuit.
The left just loves these self driving cars. They’re just an interim step of course before cars are outlawed and they have us all in buses. Really, slow, buses.
ural…. I am not sure why anyone would need to parallel park these days.
The self driving robot car is a reality, it will be perfected and at some time in the not too distant future it will be the only option available other than mass transit. The on-board robotic driving program will be tied into your licencing and monitored by authorities who will dictate – where you go, how fast, how long and will shut the car off for any minor infraction – you really won’t own it – any more than you own your real property now.
It WILL be this way because this is what has been pre-ordained by the martinets who engineer society and build the omnipotent super state – just another incremental push for expanding government’s roll in all our lives. Removing the means of independent personal mobility (the private care) has been a wet dream for these control freaks for decades. All local legislative efforts are focused at virtual removal of independent mechanized travel – dependency on the government for mobility will be a final nail in the coffin of free society.
Will it also run over hippies, community organizers and social justice warriors?
As always, the headline’s the best part of the story.
Touche, Kate!
Self driving cars will lead to a revolutionary change in transportation. No one will actually own a car which is allowed on a public street in metropolitan areas (i.e., off road/or driven on private property or very rural/isolated areas will be allowed). The manufacturer or the government or some corporation will own the “cars”. When someone needs to travel somewhere, a car is called to them. Passengers go to their destination and are billed for the ride. Fewer cars fully utilized. The car goes on to the next call. Yes, you may have to share a ride but not always. No more buses (you are delivered to your actual destination), no more cars parked along the streets in front of businesses or homes. Good traffic flow. Cars designed around passenger comfort … no steering wheel, no forward orientation needed. No more auto insurance. No more auto parts stores. No more police traffic enforcement. Well you get the picture.
But you may not like it.
Indeed Occam.
A driverless society and a cashless society.
But not a crashless society.
And no place to park cash.
Kate: A Streetcar Named Allegory. I gasp at your genius!
This has to near the top of your Top Ten.
What kind of a moron stands in FRONT of a vehicle with no driver? Only a professional journalist.
Or a crash test dummy.
If the car can be programmed to drive over journalists,
telemarketers, and politicians, sales will be brisk.
It works! How much is the model that runs over lawyers and politicians?
It gets my vote for Car of the Year.
Self-driving cars, you say?
What about the back seat driver?
Yeah well, I’m still more than a bit suspicious of antilock brakes…