Self driving versus real drivers

[Tommy]

Originally Posted by eschaider

This is one more progressive idea that needs a little more vinegar ...


Ed

Ed,
I'll not argue sides of the political spectrum with you both because it is banned under forum rules and because it is a pointless exercise. But I will opine that the one thing politicians of all stripes have in common is trying to make constituents think they (the politicians) have solved a problem without demanding more taxes. A technological solution that packs cars more tightly on the roads and demands less parking space in crowded environs is a dream come true for politicians of all stripes because it addresses obvious problems and doesn't require politicians to raise taxes on individual voters. All they have to do is pass laws and regulations, and tax the transportation companies that are charging us to ride in their driverless cars.

[eschaider]

Originally Posted by Tommy

Ed,
I'll not argue sides of the political spectrum with you both because it is banned under forum rules and because it is a pointless exercise. But I will opine that the one thing politicians of all stripes have in common is trying to make constituents think they (the politicians) have solved a problem without demanding more taxes. A technological solution that packs cars more tightly on the roads and demands less parking space in crowded environs is a dream come true for politicians of all stripes because it addresses obvious problems and doesn't require politicians to raise taxes on individual voters. All they have to do is pass laws and regulations, and tax the transportation companies that are charging us to ride in their driverless cars.

I think we are on the same page Tommy. In my experience the majority of professional politicians have never seen a tax they did not like or want to levy on us, usually for initiatives they were never spent for, like highway and bridge maintenance in California. Albeit we are tax extremeophiles out here.

All the points you make about parking space, vehicle density on the highways etc I believe are spot on. I am just glad I will hopefully be gone before these initiatives mature. However, before I go I will relish driving a Cobra whose genre represents very likely the best of the old times ...


Ed