Cars that drive themselves
DECEMBER 5, 2007 (WEDNESDAY) – At the 1939 World’s Fair, an exhibit featured automatically controlled cars of the future. “Safe distance between cars is maintained by automatic radio control,” a voice explained. I attended the 1964 World’s Fair and a similar exhibit presented the same message.
These smart cars have finally appeared as experimental models. “Adaptive cruise control” automatically slows the car if it senses tailgaiting. Some cars – not yet available to the public – literally drive themselves. In an exciting demonstration, empty cars drove themselves around a special enclosed area. The cars found parking spots and obeyed stop signs, among other actions that normally require a driver behind the steering wheel.
I don’t think I would want a car that is completely automatic, doing its own thing while I am only a passenger, but I would welcome some of the obvious safety features it would bring, like keeping a safe distance and avoidance of collisions.
I’m sure Henry Ford never thought of such things as he cranked out Model T’s and Model A’s in the early days of mass production. The “horseless carriage” resembled the horse-drawn vehicles it replaced in some ways. For instance, there was the running board on each side, that was a leftover feature from the equine-powered buggies. And for quite a while the roofs of cars were metallic only around the edges, with a canvass-type roof to keep out the rain and sunshine. The new idea of fuel required measurement of the tank’s contents, which was done with a glass bubble on the dash and a float that showed the driver the approximate fuel level. The windshield cranked forward at its base, to allow the flow of air into the car. And, just in case it rained, a lever above the windshield could be moved back and forth in an arc that manually moved the wipers. Yep, those cars were far removed from today’s idea of a car that drives itself.
Many cars nowadays actually talk to you, calling you by name. Some day, that voice may just ask you where you want to go. Be nice. You don’t want to make the driver angry; it might drive recklessly.