Many of my friends will know that I have a driving phobia and drive a car very little. I just have a few set journeys into the town centre, for which I can stick at 30 miles an hour for most of the time. The affordability of the self-drive car is probably not going to come in time for people of my generation. But what a marvellous concept it would be for me! I cannot quite imagine what it would be like to get into a car and just let it drive me wherever I want to go. Could I take a sedative and go to sleep for the whole journey? Or would I have to be ready to take the wheel in case of an emergency? Would I be okay with the car driving me on the motorway with no other human being present? I think I’d have to try the experience first with Paul, my very patient husband, in the car with me.
Of course when the self-drive cars do become more commonplace, car ownership will probably be completely different. I imagine that these cars will be more like taxis without drivers, rather than vehicles which people would own and keep on their driveways. Living where we do, at the end of a long, country lane, perhaps I could summon a vehicle with a click of the fingers.
The other question is of course, what about people who like to travel with everything but the kitchen sink to accompany them? Supposing people need a car suitable for transporting half a dozen German Shepherd dogs? Would it be possible to order a suitable car? Personally I don’t want the risk of summoning a car which might have a whiff of dog about it. Tongue-in-cheek and naming no names, I do have friends who keep rather a lot of rubbish in their cars. This might be sweet wrappers, empty drinks cans, tissues which have fallen out of the box, spare clothes, emergency food and items which have never quite made it to the tip. Would it be possible to order a car filled with rubbish in order to have the whole, homely experience? Or would each car be emptied and cleaned after use and the hirer charged for the service?
Self-drive cars – if only I were ten years younger, I might be able to find out the answers to all of these questions and more!
