OK, let’s have a show of hands out there. How many of you would be willing to buy one of those computerized cars that don’t need drivers?
Let’s see. So far I only see four of you: the two kids busy texting, the guy in the back with three DUI convictions, and the elderly gentleman with the white cane and the service dog.
No surprise that few seem interested in investing in a Googlemobile or a SiliconSedan.
So-called “autonomous cars,” or “robo-cars” are now being tested on the public roadways in four states. Some car companies, including Nissan, hope to be able to sell them at affordable prices by 2020, or maybe 2030.
Right now, they are packed with up to $100,000 worth of cameras, computers, radars, range-finders, lasers, sensors and GPS systems. But even if prices become competitive, who would be willing to buy even the least-expensive model?
Confession: I never thought the automatic transmission would become popular, so maybe I’m slow to embrace technology. But before I’d buy a Porsche without a pilot or a Caprice without a captain, someone has a lot of explaining to do. For instance:
• Can my 13-year-old neighborhood nerd hack into my autonomous auto anonymously? He claims to have found a way into the CIA’s database.
• Would my friends and family members ride with me?
• What would it cost to repair the electronics — once you get out of the hospital? Cars already have enough computers under the hood to make repair bills run into five figures.
• Here’s a hypothetical: Say you’re driving over Loveland Pass. You come around a curve and there is a herd of mountain goats in the road. The ovine sensor on board tells the braking application to hit the binders. But there is loose gravel on the asphalt and a split-second decision has to be made to either run into the goats or send you off the cliff and eventually — if you are lucky — into the Flight for Life helicopter. Which decision does the computer make?
• Even if we could afford one of these cars, what does the insurance company say about this? Are we in for unprecedented premiums?
• Will an electronically driven car be able to use satellite photos to find a parking space at the mega-mall on Saturday afternoon?
• Does it know when to honk the horn?
• If you are pulled over by a cop, who pays the ticket? Better still, does your car even hear a siren?
Admittedly, road tests of the experimental models have been promising: After 1 million miles, there were only 14 minor accidents — all of them the fault of other drivers or during times when a real driver was at the wheel. Still, have these machines been on an icy bridge in winter?
I can only think of one advantage to being chauffeured by a contraption relying on a whole bunch of computer chips. Say your radar doesn’t recognize the car in the next lane and it cuts him off. The angry driver pulls up next to you and tries to give you the “No. 1” salute.
When he sees no one is driving, the look on his face would be priceless.
Dick Hilker (dhilker529@ ) is a retired Denver suburban area newspaper editor and columnist.
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