The government has today paved the way for driverless cars to appear on UK streets from as early as January next year. Three cities will be selected for trials of the vehicles which will last around 18 to 36 months. While the technology of a truly autonomous vehicle fascinates me, at the same time it makes me extremely worried. Getting these things to work has taken years of intensive research and testing and now they have to be trialled among other road users to make sure they are safe and practical. Transport Minister Clair Perry said: “Driverless cars have huge potential to transform the UK’s transport network – they could improve safety, reduce congestion and lower emissions". I have to say that i disagree and feel that the way forward on our congested roads is not to try to improve a 'cars technology' but to improve driver training and driving standards so that human beings can interact in a more intelligent way. The 'job' of driving has been gradually dumbed down over the last 25 years with better smoother engines, soundproofing, automatic lights and wipers etc to the point where we have less and less to do in the drivers seat and therefore feel less involved with our cars and are tempted to do other things like using mobile phones and social networking. Driving a car still relies on the driver using their cognitive thought process to make judgements and perceive dangers ahead but anything that disturbs that process means there is a greater chance of an accident. Removing those distractions and putting the driver back into the job of driving is where we should be focussing our attention for our future driver generations.
I will not be a passenger in any vehicle that takes to the public road unless it has the best computer in the world at the controls...a human being!
I will not be a passenger in any vehicle that takes to the public road unless it has the best computer in the world at the controls...a human being!
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