You Won't Need a Driver's License by 2040: Cool or Crazy?

computers the equivilent of a human brain are in the not to distant future

At least those darn red-light cameras will be gone!

Most people enjoy driving. Especially in the US we are almost obsessed with cars. I love gas guzzlers. My first car was a classic Nash Rambler (the one with the George Petty hood ornament) that was a money-sucking beast by the time I got it (in the mid-80s), but I loved it!

We are getting a bit smarter though. To say that modern vehicles made out of plastic and Styrofoam do not appeal to the side of me that is in love with (real) cars is an understatement. But they save gas and don't cost a fortune to maintain, at least in the short term. Automation is the next step in that direction. Though similarly offensive to the driver mentality, it offers the most optimum wear and fuel conservation.

No doubt, manual driving will always be an option, but with automation available it will be possible to raise the requirements for licensing, keeping more bad drivers in the passenger seat.

That should be possible NOW; if the states wanted to make the efforts. Too many think driving is a RIGHT, not a privilege, and forget that an automobile is a LETHAL WEAPON!

Yes...But you realize that in the Grocery store, anyone can grab a RAID spray, hold a lighter and make a flamethrower?

nah id rather spray that junk down someone throat and make choke on it in my hands.

lol :D, I'm just explaining the risks of other places, to her. ! OH! an airplane where they give you Alluminum Soda cans! I (Anyone) could fashion a shiv from a torn sprite can!

I would agree, but there are a lot of people who really have no viable alternative.

For example, I live in a very rural area... way out in the sticks... and one of my neighbors is a deaf man who inherited his rural home. He is poor and lives mostly off the land (I don't believe he even has electricity), but does need to get into town for basic supplies regularly. So he owns a car and has a license. If his handicap prevented him getting a license to drive he'd be stranded, and have no way to even contact supportive neighbors short of a very long walk. There are also a lot of seniors living out in the country who could be stripped of their licenses if requirements were tightened.

Many cars now have a loose nut holding the steering wheel as it is. If people can't make an intelligent on who they vote for, how can they be trusted not to defeat the intelligence build into these cars?

precisely.

Ask Lindsay Lohan...

Please, not while she's driving!

Good if you're lazy and don't want to actually drive around. But I enjoy driving because it's fun.

I think you should have a mandatory two years behind the wheel before you can use an autonomous car, if the computer goes down, you need to be able to handle your vehicle

And that's why they put pilots in the cockpits of airliners! 2 of then!

This should be top comment instead.

It's too straight forward and in-line with the question. It has nothing political behind it.
That almost immediately disqualifies it.

Lol oui, I guess xD

BTW EVERYONE VOTE REPUBLICAN

Now can it be top comment? o3o

Awesome! Let's be progressive about the future, not conservative!

NOT COOL...........I enjoy driving, its one of my most favorite things to do.

And we won't have privately owned cars either. They will be part of an integrated community transportation system with cars on demand sent to your home or office. But we will be far more dependent upon public transportation than private vehicles, even for longer trips.

wow..i bet it launches through an iPhone app....

That would be hecktic

Ofcourse it sounds crazy now but I remember thinking the 'Debit Card' was crazy too!

I don't care how automated cars become, we still need to know how to control it. Many planes are automated, but I can't just hop into one, because the person in the pilot's seat has to know how ti react if circumstances change. Don't like it? Then take a taxi or a bus.

i LOTAHE the DMV... and the cost incurred for the privilege of driving.
car registration, insurance, etc. but i do like to go places and since i kinda live in the sticks i need to drive.
in 2040, i'll be 57. and by then i'll be seriously wondering WHERE THE HELL IS MY FLYING CAR???

If cops have computer controlled cars, my Harley & I won't have to worry about getting pulled over as often.

Guess I won't be driving any cars when that time comes

Ima control freak, so I will have to be in control of my car....Scary to think that kids may be able to just "jump in" and go....

Drivers License = Tax money and government control. No way the government is giving that up.

You might not need any skill to drive a vehicle. Maybe the driving test goes away. But you're still gonna need government permission and to pay your tribute to our feckless leaders to own one and use it on the roads.

Drivers license = safer roads and more freedom to get where I want. And why should you get to use expensive well maintained roads for free?

I never suggested anyone get to use roads for free. The gas tax pays for roads. In the future it will probably be replaced with a mileage tax.

The driver's license is supposed to only make sure qualified skilled drivers use the roads and that those who regularly disobey driving laws get tickets, points, and eventually loose their license. If the cars drive themselves the need for any driver qualifications goes away, as does the need to enforce tickets or points. The person isn't "driving". Why would you need a "Driver's" license. Are you suggesting we need a passenger license? People need to take a test to know how to sit in a car? When cars drive them self driver's licenses are obsolete. But the need for one will never go away as the government never gives up tax revenue willingly. They only gave up the war tax on telephones when it was taken to court a few years ago and a judge revoked the law. The war had been paid for decades ago. But they just kept charging the tax. They will redefine the needs and make you have a license anyway.

Personally, I perfer to drive my own Car. I don't need some Computer to do it for me. I'm not that "long in the tooth" yet.

Crazy cool.

Although even with automatic cars I believe that people should still be able to drive one manually to be on the road anyway.

With some drivers it might be a great idea, however I'll still be driving my restored, or modified historic car if I'm still alive.

Fantastic. Not really.

We were promised flying cars by 2000. Still waiting.

They were predicted by 1960 at the 1930 world's fair.