I have been having a fascinating social media discussion about the safety of those “driverless” vehicles that have become a rage among those who want to turn driving over to a computer.
I posted a note on Facebook that I never will sit in a vehicle that is being “driven” by a computer. It drew some response from friends out there who contend that the technology is nine times safer than motor vehicles with human beings operating the steering wheel.
Allow me to stipulate this fact about myself: I am old-school when it comes to motor vehicles.
The hard truth is that I prefer to drive a vehicle with a manual transmission. Why? Because I long have had this fascination with actually manipulating gear shifts levers. It goes back to when my mother taught me to drive her 1961 Rambler, which had a three-speed manual transmission … “on the stick.”
Mom offered me many pearls of wisdom. One of them was that “if you learn to drive with a manual transmission, you will be able to drive anything.” Mom was right. I pride myself on my ability to operate any sort of vehicle with a manual transmission.
I served for a time in Vietnam as an aircraft mechanic and then as a flight operations specialist. The Army then sent me to a transportation company with the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment in Fort Lewis, Wash. I was assigned duty driving a five-ton cargo truck. No sweat. I picked it up immediately.
Therefore, I stand foursquare behind my belief that driverless vehicles ain’t my bag, man. I simply do not trust these machines to ensure that vehicles stay in their lanes.
It’s just me … I guess.