Originally Posted by
Mithrandir
Does anyone else think that as we transition towards automated cars, a new era of driver/cyclist cooperation will be unleashed? How far off is it? 5 years? 10?
Yes. I think this will finally make vehicular cycling fully practical for all of us, and it will reduce the number of collisions on the road overall. Robot cars will probably also change how we deal with cars and may even change our whole notion of ownership of cars.
How soon? That is hard to say... Google has done and is continuing to do extensive testing on various robot cars, and has persuaded Nevada to change their state laws so robot cars can be legally used on the roads there, AND humans inside such vehicles can use electronic devices.
The hardware is almost there, the testing is being done, it is only a matter of time.
The downside is that many motorists believe that "driving is fun," and are not likely to want to purchase a robot vehicle. (There is tremendous association in this country between one's status, ego and the vehicle one owns, that the situation to overcome this social enigma alone will be difficult)
I tend to think that over the next 20 or so years, fuel for current vehicles will become increasingly expensive and at some point the only vehicles that will be available to run on "new fuel" will be robot cars, and then a transition to robot cars will take place.