Google Inc has invested heavily in driverless car technology, and have just tested a self-driving car. But will drivers really ever give up the wheel?
Self-driving cars offer a number of benefits, from no more waiting at the lights, no more road rage, no more pile-ups or traffic jams, not to mention being able to peruse the morning paper as you go to work instead of staring at the road. The advantages are indeed many and varied.
Furthermore, environmental advocates of the technology say that they could slash emissions of carbon and safety campaigners add that by removing human error from daily transport the number of road accidents and fatalities could be greatly reduced, if not altogether done away with.
But not everyone is convinced that the technology, no matter how attractive, will stick. After all, there are over 350 million fans of the motoring enthusiast show “Top Gear” who would beg to differ about the need to give up the wheel. There is also the issue of putting your life, and that of your loved ones in the hands of a machine.
The concept is not a new one, with the first ‘smart’ cars seen in Japan in 1977. We have come a long way since then, with Google’s car navigating a 140,000 mile stretch of road that included busy San Francisco streets. However until we are no longer lead astray every second time we use a sat nav device, or ‘Tom Tom’ the self-driving car will stay a sideshow.
