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By *inaTitz OP TV/TS
over a year ago
Titz Towers, North Notts |
I see the government is legislating for robotic computer controlled cars to be legal on the highway to some degree.
Driverless carriages sound like a rum proposition to me. For one thing, how do you know it's the genuine article and not someone pissing about, just ducked down? I'd love to drive crouched down, using the force to make sure I don't hit anything obviously, and to then pop up at traffic lights just to make the people in the next lane jump. Car thieves would find it a bonus, as they could evade CCTV. Short people would also be fine, as you'd never know if it were Popeye or Lickety driving or if it is just a driverless car.
How safe are they? You've not got a human controlling events. There is no boy racer, with lightning fast reflexes, or some veteran geriatric with 60 years experience of causing carnage in command. Will anyone even notice any difference? If the roads around Mansfield are anything to go by, frankly, it may even be a bonus. I can't imagine two of these cars sat at the lights, revving their engines next to each other before wheel spinning off.
Mind you, if you do get run over by one, who gets the blame? Is it your fault for stepping out in front? The chap who programmed the route, regardless of the fact there is a host of new build housing there and one of these cars is now stuck on someone's back garden? Or how about the car itself? Can a computer get insurance and if so, will the age of the computer work for or against it? Will a 21 year old robot car have lower premiums? If so, I want my old Spectrum to control mine, as the premiums will cost hardly anything, but if it is anything like playing Gauntlet, it will crash just as I think I'm getting somewhere. Mind you, if I do get one myself, the first thing I'm doing is sending it through the McDonald's drive through, as it should be interesting to see their faces.
I know a lot of people will be worried about the safety of these driverless carriages, so my solution is to have a guy walk in front of them, with a red flag to warn people. Now I know this will slow traffic up, so if he were to sit in the car and have the flag on the bonnet they can travel faster and be less of a nuisance. In order to keep space for goods and passengers, perhaps the best seat for him would be in the driver's seat.....
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robot cars,,hhmmmm why not I like a drink
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