I hereby offer a stern and sincere pledge, which is that I won’t belabor the point I am about to make in this brief blog post.
That commercial for the pickup that drives itself is giving me the creeps. You ask: Why? Here goes.
When I get into a motor vehicle, I do so intending to take — and retain — control of it. I want to drive the vehicle. Which means I want my hands on the steering wheel and free to manipulate the transmission (if it is of a manual variety, of course).
The last time I posted a piece on this subject, I was called down by those who suggest that driver-less vehicles are safer than those operated by human beings. I am not going to quibble and quarrel over that. I know next to nothing about the technology or the test results that suggest such a thing.
It’s just that I cannot fathom the need to push some “auto-pilot” button and then let go of the steering wheel. What do I do with my hands? Read a book? Talk on my phone? Send text messages to hither and yon?
Oh, I know! I can clap like the actors in the commercial.
Sheesh …