Now that my fellow Eastern Penn Advanced Toastmasters Club members have read the pre-speech articles and heard the presentation, it is time to solicit your input.
I would like to know if you embrace or are skeptical about this new technology. Would you prefer a car that prioritizes your protection or that of pedestrians in the even that the protection of one or the other must be chosen by the car? Is government regulatory involvement in this welcomed by you or would you prefer some alternate means of assuring safety? Chime in!
Discussions today about technology and transportation remind me of the discussions my Grandfather talked about…the days of horse and buggy. Those were the days when you were dating and went home late at night you could sleep and let the horse take you home from your date. Fast forward to today – there’s a real danger for the horse and buggies in Amish country, although rare, those same kids coming home late at night from dates can get killed doing that…the horse knows the way home but doesn’t know how to read stop signs and how to look both ways for the cars and trucks coming the other way.
How about those driverless cars of today? It was 1903, that Henry Ford founded Ford Motors Company and began building the horseless carriages. 1903 was a time where people were in disbelief that anyone would even think of moving from those horse drawn buggies to a horseless carriage. A time, much like today, people are in disbelief that they may someday call Uber for a ride only to find their Uber car arrives driverless. Believe it! History does repeat itself!
How soon will it be that we are driving through the plains of the United States and come across a long platoon of tractor trailers without drivers? Today the United States faces a huge shortage of truck drivers. Many products like fruit and veggies come from the west coast and those same tractor trailers return to the west coast with products manufactured on the east coast. The truck manufacturers are ready to supply tractor trailers that can travel the highways in huge platoons during the night without drivers…much like a long freight train travels across the plains. Those driverless platoons of tractors and trailers can pull over when they get closer to their destination and drivers can take over. The platoons can include tractors as needed to pull multiple trailers…much like the engine and the caboose for a freight train. That will allow drivers the opportunity to have quality family time and not spend all their hours out on the road. The better hours and lifestyle will also open the doors for more people to want to drive. The long hauls will become local deliveries with more sane hours.
Just like many people were not ready to give up their horse and buggy in 1903, many of us our not ready to give up driving our cars today. But like my Grandfather…let’s keep open minds and enjoy the journey!