We are all probably aware that self-driving cars are in full development with test cars driving themselves very long distances. The latest that I have become aware of is self-drive racing cars. That is impressive because not only do they cope with the basics of moving a car from A to Z, but they have to cope with high speed. The age of stepping into our cars and programming our destination, and relaxing is likely something that will be realized in my lifetime. Interestingly, on my fiftieth birthday I reviewed the past fifty years, and I made some predictions for the next fifty. I was deliberately outrageos, but among my predictons was self driving cars to answer the problems of driving by humans.
Now it has been announced that new cars will have crash sensors installed. The problem this answers is where a crash occurs resulting in the incapacitation of anyone from either vehicle to call it in. If the crash occurs in a lonely place your car will summon help which could be the difference between life and death. If we are very lucky we get a golden hour after an impact within which to receive life saving treatment. The article I read suggests that this new technology might save as much as 2,500 lives a year. That's significant!
The system cannot report how serious the crash has been, nor how many people are involved or the nature of their injuries, but if both vehicles have the system installed some deductions may be made. In the main the probability of help being dispatched sooner will most likely be met.
On the same page of The Post from which I read this article was a story about a drunken driver who caused absolute chaos along the highway. Bring on the self-driving cars as noted above, and the sooner the better. We need to solve the problem we have with this type of driver who has been responsible for so many premature deaths over the years. If only he didn't have that first drink that convinced him it was alright to have a second, and a third.
Copyright (c) 2015 Eugene Carmichael
