5 Amazing Ways Self-Driving Cars Will Change Society

The future of driving seems to be not driving. Companies are creating vehicles called “autonomous + human” that allow drivers to control the vehicle or switch to what they call “autopilot” in the flying world.

Here we rundown what’s to come for driverless vehicles in the way of innovative performance technology and improvements in passenger safety.

1. Your car will judge you – and could block you from driving

Your car will have a program that rates your performance in the driver’s seat against the performance of the autonomous controller, rating speed, fuel consumption, acceleration, breaking, spacing, lane changes and so on.

If your score drops below a certain level, the autonomous controls may take over and block you from driving. Ultimately, driving will no longer be a necessary skill to live and work in major cities and suburbs.

2. Driverless services will take over

It looks very certain that “driving” will mutate into “riding.”

Tesla, Google, Uber and others are designing autonomous vehicles that will arrive at your location minutes after clicking on your app. These same vehicles will become delivery services for anything from pizza to your new flat screen TV, or to pick up laborers on the street and bring them to your house to help you move. Your moving truck will also be driverless.

The time we used to spend frustrated in traffic or cursing at someone who just cut us off will now be spent on communication, education seminars, entertainment, relaxation or even exercising.

3. You won’t need to own a car

Elon Musk recently noted that people won’t need to own cars in the near future. He later remembered that he sells cars for a living and did some backpedaling.

But while most people will evolve from drivers to riders, there will always be some who love real driving. When non-autonomous cars are no longer allowed on the roads, where will car collectors like Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno drive their hundreds of vehicles?

4. You won’t be allowed to drive non-autonomous vehicles everywhere

Real-world driving will eventually be relegated to authorized roads away from autonomous vehicles, or special tracks outside major cities as a form of daredevil entertainment along with races and skills competitions. The real world will become a game and what was a game will become the real world.

5. You’ll be able to experience Virtual Reality on your daily commute

While you’re driving to work or to meet up with friends, autonomous vehicles will be able to offer a myriad of VR driving experiences. You’ll be able to re-enact the car chase from your favorite movie with a vehicle containing movement simulators, race through traffic like a maniac, or win at Daytona or Indianapolis, all while your real-world vehicle is plugging along at legal speed limits to get you to your destination.

The Future of Driving

And what about movies? Will there no longer be car chase scenes, or will they only exist in period films? Will movie characters hack autonomous vehicles and chase each other, thereby throwing the whole transportation system into a tizzy? Or will riders in cars be able to watch a hacked autonomous car being chased through Los Angeles by autonomous police cars?

Driving is a passion for some. It’s visceral, it’s tactile, and it’s full of sounds, sights and smells. Some love the experience so much they can almost taste it. Tasting it will probably become an option on future vehicles at the push of a button. Perhaps we’ll soon be feeling the way they did when the horse and buggy got run off the road by automobiles. Things will never be the same.

It’s like Zager and Evans predicted in the song “In The Year 2525”:

In the year 5555
Your arms are hanging limp at your sides
Your legs got nothing to do
Some machine is doing that for you.

Some of these lyrics are coming true about 500 years sooner than they thought.