Driving takes up a ton of our time. According to the AAA Foundation for traffic security: "Drivers, on average, make two driving trips per day, which take an average of 46 minutes." (1) This means that over the course of a year, drivers spend on average 279 hours, or over 11 whole days a year, driving. If the old adage "time is money" really is true, then driving truly is an expensive thing.
Over the next few years, it is likely that for some, that time will become more accessible. The current research and testing on self-driving cars will have repercussions for the way our world operates. Communication is one of those areas. While being in a self-driving car will not eliminate drive distances, it will free up that time for the drivers. They will not be able to anything they might want as they will still be stuck in the car. But, communication can happen anywhere. 11 whole days of freed up time is something that a lot of Americans wish they had. A lot of Americans will be more than willing to give up driving for being driven for 11 extra days in a year.
Phone calls, texts, email, even video appointments held in the car while being driven are all probable. The potential increase in productivity could earn Americans millions. “Beyond the practical benefits, autonomous cars could contribute $1.3 trillion in annual savings to the US economy alone, with global savings estimated at over $5.6 trillion,” wrote Ravi Shanker of Morgan Stanley. (2) This could radically increase the global economy as well, as globalization has increased drastically over the years.
While the possible monetary gain is something to consider, the very way that we deal with commuting time will change. No longer will people look at driving as something that they need to do. Instead, people will look at what they can do with the extra time from being driven. Books and blog posts will be written about the effective use of commuting time. People will be able to watch more entertainment or read more of the news. Managers will come to expect that their employees will utilize their commuter time more efficiently. Parents will be able to better care for their children while on long road trips. Being driven around will become even more of a social activity than driving currently is. People might actually come to looking forward to their daily commute.
The cultural effects will be massive. All the signs and campaigns against texting and driving will become outdated. People will no longer need to wait until a certain age to drive. The older generation will look back on fond memories of learning to drive, while the up and coming generation will get driven around their whole lives.
Regardless of how our time, communication, culture or our economy might change, the arrival of the self-driving car is here. While it might not immediately transform the way we all live, it will over time.
(1)-https://www.aaafoundation.org/sites/default/files/2015AmericanDrivingSurveyFS.pdf
(2)-http://www.morganstanley.com/articles/autonomous-cars-the-future-is-now
Over the next few years, it is likely that for some, that time will become more accessible. The current research and testing on self-driving cars will have repercussions for the way our world operates. Communication is one of those areas. While being in a self-driving car will not eliminate drive distances, it will free up that time for the drivers. They will not be able to anything they might want as they will still be stuck in the car. But, communication can happen anywhere. 11 whole days of freed up time is something that a lot of Americans wish they had. A lot of Americans will be more than willing to give up driving for being driven for 11 extra days in a year.
Phone calls, texts, email, even video appointments held in the car while being driven are all probable. The potential increase in productivity could earn Americans millions. “Beyond the practical benefits, autonomous cars could contribute $1.3 trillion in annual savings to the US economy alone, with global savings estimated at over $5.6 trillion,” wrote Ravi Shanker of Morgan Stanley. (2) This could radically increase the global economy as well, as globalization has increased drastically over the years.
While the possible monetary gain is something to consider, the very way that we deal with commuting time will change. No longer will people look at driving as something that they need to do. Instead, people will look at what they can do with the extra time from being driven. Books and blog posts will be written about the effective use of commuting time. People will be able to watch more entertainment or read more of the news. Managers will come to expect that their employees will utilize their commuter time more efficiently. Parents will be able to better care for their children while on long road trips. Being driven around will become even more of a social activity than driving currently is. People might actually come to looking forward to their daily commute.
The cultural effects will be massive. All the signs and campaigns against texting and driving will become outdated. People will no longer need to wait until a certain age to drive. The older generation will look back on fond memories of learning to drive, while the up and coming generation will get driven around their whole lives.
Regardless of how our time, communication, culture or our economy might change, the arrival of the self-driving car is here. While it might not immediately transform the way we all live, it will over time.
(1)-https://www.aaafoundation.org/sites/default/files/2015AmericanDrivingSurveyFS.pdf
(2)-http://www.morganstanley.com/articles/autonomous-cars-the-future-is-now
This is a fascinating idea to consider. I work in Salt Lake City and commute almost 4 hours a day just to and from a job site. It is incredible to me that people are willing to pay for such a commodity in the audio video world where I work. This is a gamechanger because in my world, I can log in remotely and fix a majority of problems while mobile or on the fly. Regardless of how you treat driving, autonomous cars will change how we treat travel and commuting.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really cool topic to consider. I think a lot of people feel concerned about self driving cars. Questions such as who is responsible in the case of an accident. The driver, or the company who made the car. I wonder if this new technology will catch on, or if it will be one that only the wealthy will have. Overall, I thought your considerations of the impacts to communication with this new technology were thought out well.
ReplyDeleteI think this is really cool! And personally believe it will be huge to have autonomous cars, for the sake of ability to work while traveling. Countless times I have wished I had more time to work each day, but my hour and a half commute each day take a large chunk of my work time. With self driving cars I would be able to get a lot of work done during my commute, instead of putting an extra 2-3 hours of work in each night when I get home. Great post!
ReplyDeleteYour intro was really captivating John - nice job. I have wondered about the implications of self-driving cars too. Growing up, I could read, play a video game, sleep, or do anything else I wanted in the back seats while my parents drove. Having that opportunity for all those with self driving cars would be a game changer for sure. Self-driving cars do not come without any concerns of course, yet it will be interesting to see if they are safer than standard users. Nice article outlining the situation.
ReplyDeleteSelf driving cars are certainly an interesting thing to fathom. I am glad you included the amount of average time in there, this made for an interesting read. I think it will be a huge step toward "creating time". Unfortunately we will only apply more to our plates and occupy that 11 days in some other way.
ReplyDeleteAutonomous cars are so interesting to me. I hadn't thought about it in terms of time/money saved, but that really does make sense. It will be interesting to see the technology of self-driving cars advance, and how it will compare to the normal risks of our current driving situations.
ReplyDelete