I passed my driving test aged 18 and have been driving ever since and i have to admit i like driving which is lucky as my trek to work is a 200 mile drive at the start of the week and the same back again at the end of it with cruise control taking over some of it but generally it is get onto the Motorways, slide into fifth gear and then mess with the accelerator as i chase down cars in the far distance.
With news that trials for driverless cars are about to increased, the promise of this technology does fill me with a mix of emotions because if it reduces accidents then it is obviously a good thing but it does remove the physical thrills of driving.
The clutch movement alongside the physical turning of the steering wheel as you shift around the gears when you spot an opportunity to overtake or the thrill of a long stretch of an empty motorway ahead of you where it is just you with your windows wound down, a powerful engine purring away and whatever music you have blasting out from your car stereo as you watch the speedometer creep above the legal speed limit .
City driving is a different beast and can be extremely frustrating and i know that there will always be an option to not buy a car which requires you to write in a destination and then fold your arms and wait to arrive and i would probably welcome having an AI system do that bit but there is a reason why there are so many songs about the joy of rising and i am very much with Steppenwolf when they suggest: 'Get your motor runnin', Head out on the highway, We're lookin' for adventure, And whatever comes our way' but cannot condone Mungo Jerry who suggests you 'Have a drink, have a drive and go out and see what you can find' which is a reckless disregard for road safety.
Monday, 16 September 2024
Driverless Cars And The Thrill Of Driving
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i wanted a self-driving feature for the opposite reason of city driving.
for 25 years i commuted 65 miles one way to work, 130 miles round trip, on an interstate highway (44 miles) and US highway (20 miles). that meant driving on a city street for one mile, driving 64 miles in essentially a straight line, then literally exiting into the gate of my employer.
i would have loved to put the damn thing on automatic and sleep or read or do anything other than stare robotically down the same road for an hour+ each way... that was at least 10 hours a week, 48 weeks a year, for 25 years... which comes to 12,000 hours, which is 500 days, which is 1.4 years of my life...
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