> Consider it rationally. Driving is costly, but it engenders an entire host of benefits & pleasures I don't think you're even considering.
I am considering it entirely rationally. I believe that we should be investing more money into research that could save 30,000 lives every year. Never did I suggest in my initial post that human driving should be banned before self-driving cars are capable of replacing humans in this capacity. If done correctly, self-driving cars will have all the benefits of current automobiles, and then some.
As for the pleasures of driving - that's what a whole lot of people said about cigarettes, but look where we are now. And don't be silly - no one's personal "pleasures" override the safety of other people's lives.
Research? We've known for centuries how to get by without conveying ourselves everywhere in 4,000 pound steel cages. It's called population density, mass transit when a community exceeds a certain size, and having vital services (drugstores, groceries, maybe the odd pub) within walking distance of where people live. It's not a technical problem, it's a social problem.
I am considering it entirely rationally. I believe that we should be investing more money into research that could save 30,000 lives every year. Never did I suggest in my initial post that human driving should be banned before self-driving cars are capable of replacing humans in this capacity. If done correctly, self-driving cars will have all the benefits of current automobiles, and then some.
As for the pleasures of driving - that's what a whole lot of people said about cigarettes, but look where we are now. And don't be silly - no one's personal "pleasures" override the safety of other people's lives.