A Brief Future of Self-Driving Cars
The first glimpses of self-driving cars began to appear. Initially, we see some Google’s Self-Driving Cars, then some limited Teslas followed quickly by other high-end brands: Mercedes, BMW, Lexus and others. This is how it all began.
Further autonomous capabilities began to emerge. Cars with limited self-driving capabilities become commercially available for non-premium brands.
The technology continues to get refined and the price tag of such systems continues to drop. Ford’s partnership with Google reveals a wide line of mass produced models. The Volkswagen group has their own version that begins to get rolled out in mass.
Insurance rates on self-driving cars begin to drop substantially as these cars are significantly safer. Unofrtunatly, someone dies in an accident because of a self-driving car bug. Lawmakers can’t decide who should be at fault; the driver, the car manufacturer or the engineer.
Car ownership continues to drop as the price for autonomous rides drops well below UberX. Parking garage vacancies start to climb as people start sending their cars out for the day to earn revenue.
Residential real-estate around cities starts climbing as locations that previously had no access to public transportation are now affordable when serviced via autonomous cars.
Autonomous trucks become industry standard hauling produce and freight across the country 24/7. Truck drivers maintain their jobs but primarily as guards and not as drivers.
Car components that were necessary for driver oriented cars begin to disappear. Rear-view mirrors and side mirrors go first, then followed by blinkers, flashers, parking breaks and eventually the steering wheels. Car interiors start to look more like meeting spaces and lounges.
As autonomous cars become ubiquitous legislature begins to require autonomous cars on interstates and public roads. Road signs and speed limit signs begin to be taken down as cities are no longer updating or replacing them.
Traffic intersections are negotiated autonomously at full speed. Since cars can see all traffic at a four-way stop, the light is redundant. Lane divider lines and guard rails are often removed and roads are narrowed leaving more room for bicycle paths and pedestrians.
Highway speed limits are raised with some electric vehicles able to travel at 200mph+. High-speed vehicles can link up and caravan at top speeds both saving and sharing electricity while reducing drag and air resistance.
Many packages are now delivered on-demand. The versatility of autonomous cars make shipping and returning products much easier than dealing with drones.
Novelty driving tracks are set up where people can experience the thrill that their grandparents felt each time they drove a car by themselves.
