Autonomous cars by 2040

[Jim Richards]

You won't need a driver's license by 2040 - CNN.com

Sure, one day we'll have no idiot drivers to contend with, but us driving enthusiasts are going to feel like we're in hell.

[GH85Carrera]

In the 60s they promised me a flying car buy 2000. I am still waiting for my jet pack and flying car.

So in just 28 years they expect to replace every single car on the road with a new car. The car makers will push hard for that.

[Jim Richards]

Auto body shops are going to hate that future!

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Jim Richards

Auto body shops are going to hate that future!

There is always hail storms and door dings!

[Jim Richards]

OK, you got me there. How 'bout cops? How are they gonna raise revenue, err, I mean make the roads safer for us?

[MDH]

Sounds like a target rich environment for hackers.....
and electronic gremlins.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

In the 60s they promised me a flying car buy 2000. I am still waiting for my jet pack and flying car.

So in just 28 years they expect to replace every single car on the road with a new car. The car makers will push hard for that.

Yup, I recall those Popular Science magazine covers from my childhood. Where's my personal UFO?

[Jim Richards]

Lindsey Lohan should be the first person required to "drive" one of these cars. And take away her Porsches.

Lohan charged with leaving scene of NYC accident - Yahoo! News

[exc911ence]

They have these now, they're called a bus.

If you don't like driving, get on public transit and leave the blacktop to those of us who enjoy it.

[fanaudical]

I'll keep my license. The cost to implement this is far too high for society to fund. We can't even get energy storage commoditized - how are we going to replace all the cars (short of government decree)?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

There's way too much money made by government from having people driving to just give up on it. They make money on:

Car purchases
Car registrations
Driver licenses
Traffic tickets
Parking fees
Parking tickets
Tollways
Peak hour usage (UK, possibly others)
Fuel taxes

And there are indirect interests (big banks funding car loans, insurance companies, etc) by huge industries who can afford to buy off politicians to the point of influencing or even shaping policy.

In short, it'll be a novelty for a few but the conventional model (with all its associated money) won't ever go away. No chance.

[Jim Richards]

I only see the drivers licenses and traffic tickets going away. Everything else stays as it currently is.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by exc911ence

They have these now, they're called a bus.

If you don't like driving, get on public transit and leave the blacktop to those of us who enjoy it.

Agreed.

But, this would allow point to point "transit" while getting more people who don't like driving out of my way.

[Zeke]

A PT Cruiser and a box van are still going to be on the road in 2040? I won't be, so I don't care.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by Jim Richards

You won't need a driver's license by 2040 - CNN.com

Sure, one day we'll have no idiot drivers to contend with, but us driving enthusiasts are going to feel like we're in hell.

If the cars drive themselves, or really are centrally controlled, why would there be traffic signals?

[aigel]

Originally Posted by red-beard

If the cars drive themselves, or really are centrally controlled, why would there be traffic signals?

Because the idiot that made the picture took an existing rendering and added a bunch of phantasy circles around the vehicles showing the autonomous thing they are doing.

Seriously though, this will be here before 2040 - not on private cars but on trucks. First there will be a piggy-back system where one or two trucks follow a lead truck that is driven by a human. Later they will run on their own.

I am not sure about the plan of all of the vehicles communicating with each other, but a standalone system can be made more reliable than a human, no question.

G

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by red-beard

If the cars drive themselves, or really are centrally controlled, why would there be traffic signals?

There wouldn't be.