Will we soon have a self-driving car?

I'm hearing that Tesla and several other car makers are developing self-driving vehicles, and that the new marvels will be on the market soon. I'm also hearing that the company which has people drive their own cars like taxicabs will also be offering a fleet of self-driving cars. I'm supposing that the driverless vehicles will need to talk, as well as to drive. So, you call for a ride. The car shows up, with nobody in it. You climb in, the car asks you where to, you give an address, and off you go. Just think, you won't have to worry with the traffic, or about other drivers on the road; you just leave the driving to the robot under the dash, or under the hood, or wherever the little "brain box" is.

You can text to your heart's content, talk on the phone all you want, update your Facebook page and check everybody else's latest on Facebook, watch TV, play games, read a book, or whatever rings your bell. You don't have to pay attention to where you're going; the robot will whisk you to wherever you said, and you won't have to sweat the details. Wow, we can solve today's problems of distracted driving by maximizing the human distractions, while relying on the trusty machine to keep focus, to keep watch on developing traffic situations, figure out how to respond to all problem circumstances, and make the various decisions that need to be made along the way. We'll eliminate human error by eliminating human control.

As I consider riding in a self-driving car, I find myself thinking that most likely I won't be doing that anytime soon!

For the present, I have greater trust in a human driver who is paying attention to his driving; much more than I trust any robot to do the driving for me. Sometimes, though, if one thinks about it, having human drivers controlling 3,000- pound vehicles hurtling by each other at 85 miles per hour just a few feet apart can be a fearful thought, especially when one factors in all the possible impairments, distractions, emotional stresses and reactions and rages, as well as the natural human limitations which may affect drivers. When automobiles first appeared a hundred years ago, a car with 25 horsepower was a right powerful car, and could run as much as 35 or 40 miles per hour! Humans are probably quite capable of handling that kind of performance.

Today, though, most of us drive vehicles capable of 100 to 400 horsepower, and if our car can't do 80 on the interstate we discard it and get a faster one. I notice that in the big races, some cars can run 200 to 250 miles an hour. Are we pushing the limits of power and speed that human beings can safely manage?

I'm thinking that some people may be attracted to the idea of letting the car drive itself. To sit back, take it easy and occupy oneself with other things, while being whisked to your destination, may be just the thing for some. But I know quite a number of people who I think will not be impressed or attracted by that possibility. Some people "like" to drive, and they "want" to be in full control of their vehicle. Some of us are not at all comfortable with all the automatic features on today's cars.

For example, although I basically like the car I currently drive, I would really like to have more control over the transmission's shifting points. I start up a hill, and I think, "Now car, it's time to shift down. No wait car, not that much! Shift back up one -- don't be racing the motor so!"

Cars used to have two- or three-speed range transmissions. Now, cars have six-range transmissions and nine-range transmissions, and they still can't seem to get it right! For some people, to just "ride" in a car leaves them insecure. They need to be in control. They need to be driving. Of course there are also extreme drivers who push that idea too far, thinking that I am the only reliable driver on the road and everybody else is an idiot!

Thinking back, driverless vehicles are not really such a new idea. We used to have a team of horses who didn't really need a driver. If you were heading home from town in the farm wagon, old Pat and Mike would take you home without your having to worry about it. You could just give them free rein and go. They knew how to get there, didn't need a GPS, and were happy to go. Back in the old days, if people didn't want to drive somewhere, they could take the bus, or ride the train. The train was an especially grand way to travel. It has taken automobiles more than 100 years to get to the point of driving for us. Now, are we really ready to give up our hands on the wheel and our toe on the throttle?!

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Editor's note: Jerry Nichols, a native of Pea Ridge, is an award-winning columnist, a retired Methodist minister with a passion for history. He is vice president of the Pea Ridge Historical Society. He can be contacted by e-mail at joe369@century tel.net, or call 621-1621.

Editorial on 08/31/2016