The world of Autonomous and Electric vehicles has caused a seismic shift in the auto and transportation industry. This could lead to a huge reduction in the number of cars on the streets, thus reducing the emissions produced by cars and the number of road accidents we see. Today you could take an autonomous Volvo XC90 through the streets of Pittsburgh, or step inside one of Waymo’s minivans in Chandler Arizona. Don’t forgo attaining your license quite yet however, Autonomous Vehicles are further away than you might think.
Uber
Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi at an Economic Club meeting in Washington D.C. stated that it will take more than 50 years before all Uber cars become driverless. It’s not just Uber that has become more pessimistic about the AV future over the last 5 years, Waymo’s CEO John Krafcik told a tech conference that it will be decades before autonomous cars are widespread on the roads, and they may always need human assistance to drive in multifaceted environments, such as bad weather or areas crowded with construction or emergency equipment.
Future?
This hardly sounds like the poetic future of sending your kids to school in an Autonomous Vehicle or getting into your taxi after work and opening up a cold one. Even with the Auto industry changing quickly, drivers will always need to be prepared to take over, and thus will need drivers education.
For the kid who is thinking that they won’t need their license because of Autonomous Vehicles, they may need to think again.
