Quote:
Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos
Even if they are self-driving, I think people are still going to want to own their own cars. Even if (or especially because?) you have nothing "to do", a lot of people are still going to want some choices, personality, luxury, and something to show off.
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But to that point, I'd say why do people (assuming all other things are equal such as time and cost) prefer take a train where they need not worry about driving and just be whisked to their destination.
What I think will be the determining factor is whether or not the car can learn to react in adverse weather conditions. Considering the car relies on "seeing" the roadway, the car would fail in Canada about 3/4 of the year due to all the snow. As well, how does insurance work? If you slam into another car, who is at fault? The passenger? The owner of the car? The manufacturer?
But ultimately, my cafe-sippin (yop-gobble avoiding) brain is worried that a driverless car is just a progress trap, enabling people to continue to live individualistic lives and continue isolating people from everything else around them. However, should the technology be used wisely, it may have great merit.
My one open-ended question is why do we need to use roadways? Instead of paving roadways that constantly require maintenance due to potholes and other wear and tear, why not look at innovating alternatives? Maybe a monorail-like network of personal pods milling autonomously about the city (and region (and country)) would be better? It would use less ground space, arguably cost less on a per unit basis (save the fact you'd have to start from scratch), immediately solve the pothole problem, and have far fewer variables at play.