The United States has the most dangerous roads of any industrialized country in the world. Every day more than 100 people die from car crashes, almost as many as those who die from gun violence. Last year nearly 37,000 Americans were killed in car crashes.
These deaths can be mitigated by lowering and enforcing speed limits—speed kills—a draconian crackdown on drunken driving—and laws to discourage distracted driving.
Death rates have gone down in a small way the last couple of years, and speculation is that safety technologies added to newer cars is one reason for the decrease. Automatic emergency braking prevents rear-end crashes that cause 1500 deaths a year. Back up cameras are becoming standard features, as are systems that automatically steer drivers back to the road when they drift into the breakdown lane. There are flashing lights that warn drivers about another car in the blind spot which prevents accidents caused by sudden lane changes.
Eventually all cars will be driverless, and this is causing anxiety with people who are afraid humans will be forbidden to drive in the interests of safety.
My friend Pasquale is a “car guy,” meaning automobiles are one of the most important things in his life. He owns nine classic cars plus a couple of current models. He’s skeptical about this new technology and asks, “Will driverless cars stop most or all automobile deaths?”
My answer is yes. With apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “Let me count the ways.”
- Driverless cars won’t drive drunk. Drunk driving is responsible for 10,000 deaths a year.
- A driverless car won’t fall asleep at the wheel. The fiancé of a college classmate died after falling asleep on the highway. A Polish guy I knew was getting his mail out of his roadside mailbox in Charlton and was killed by a woman in an SUV who fell asleep at the wheel after working a double shift at a mall.
- A driverless car won’t cut another driverless car off and then give it the finger.
- Driverless cars won’t have road rage.
- Driverless cars won’t speed, a behavior that’s accepted but shouldn’t be. Speeding probably causes more deaths than drunken driving.
- A driverless car won’t be distracted because it’s talking on a cell phone or worse, texting while driving.
- A driverless car won’t be having sex while driving. You know what I’m talking about without my having to go into graphic detail (insert smiley face here).
- A driverless car won’t tailgate another driverless car.
- A driverless car won’t weave from the right lane to the center lane to the left lane and back across all three lanes because it’s in a hurry.
- Elderly driverless cars won’t mistake the accelerator for the brake. They won’t drive into a CVS or a Walgreen’s. They won’t go 30 mph in a 65 mph zone. Adult children won’t make enemies of their parents by taking their keys away along with their freedom.
That about covers it. I may have missed a few items. Feel free to add to the list.
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