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A Brief Digression

Google’s car only solves half – if that – of the problem

I’ll admit that yes, Google’s self-driving cars, which the press got a look at yesterday and were able to take a spin around in, are pretty cool. I love the idea that cars can be made more safe, at least in part – by taking human error out of the equation. I know that there are still risks – Garbage In, Garbage Out is one thing when you’re talking about a computer program but another thing when you’re talking about a program that puts a ton of metal and machinery out there amidst kids and other pedestrians – but it’s at least an interesting bit of innovation.
But, building off that last bit above, it’s only half the innovation that’s necessary. The most disappointing thing about the Google car is that it looks so very, very much like a car. When I think of how transportation needs to evolve I think of two things being necessary:
First, we need to dispose entirely of the internal combustion engine. This is technology that, while it’s become slightly more efficient, hasn’t practically changed since it was introduced. I’ve long felt that this needs to be less the realm of radicals like Elon Musk and more a national priority on the level of NASA in the 1960s. The automobile industry was important enough for the federal government to bail many of its major players out during the financial crisis of a few years ago, so it stands to reason that the government should show some leadership and assign the best and the brightest resources available across the nation to sustaining it into the rest of this century, something that will require we abandon the idea of burning oil for the sole purpose of being able to $5 off a haircut.
Second, we need to radically rethink the infrastructure of this country, and the idea of a self-driving car is the perfect opportunity to do that. Is there anything good about how things are setup right now? There are too many roads that have too many maintenance and construction needs and too many opportunities for a serious accident that, at best, can lead to major costs associate with repair of the car itself or some other piece of property or, at worst, injury or death to a person whether they’re in a car or walking alongside the street. These are serious problems that our current infrastructure creates and there’s nothing that’s really being done to alleviate them.
There are so many solutions here – more small businesses, fewer planned communities that require five minutes of driving just to get out of and which are devoid of any shopping or entertainment that are within walking distance, more emphasis on public transportation – that the mind boggles when I consider their obviousness. But all this will require a national rethinking of what our priorities are followed by consumer demand for these solutions. Businesses aren’t going to do any of this without knowing it’s what people want. So it’s time for people to start wanting them. The government – be it federal, state or local – can provide leadership in these areas, but ultimately it’s time to vote for a better infrastructure system with our wallets.