An ordinary, extraordinary first drive with the car in control
Two years ago, I got in the driver’s seat of a car for the first time in 12 years. It was an average, sunny morning drive in Austin, but for me, it was the trip of a lifetime.
Why? Because I’m legally blind. I wasn’t driving — the car was.
While getting in that car was a huge step for me personally, it was a leap for the world: It marked the beginning of a transportation revolution. My trip on Oct. 20, 2015, marked the world’s first fully self-driving ride on public roads, with no police escort and no test driver. It was just me, alone, in a car nicknamed “Firefly,” built by Google (and now known as Waymo). This was no conventional car; there was no need for a brake pedal or a steering wheel as it navigated the streets of Austin, taking turns at four-way intersections, stopping for school buses, and allowing pedestrians to cross the street safely.
It’s no surprise that friends often tell me I’m “brave” when they hear about this first ride. There is some public anxiety over self-driving cars. This month Pew Research Center reported that 54 percent of Americans say they are worried about this technology. Another poll reported that 55 percent would not ride in such a vehicle.
That’s understandable — it’s a new technology that people know little about, much less have fully experienced.
However, what we should be frightened about is the state of driving today. Worldwide, more than 1.2 million people are killed in crashes each year — and more than 35,000 Americans lost their lives in 2015 alone. Ninety-four percent of crashes are caused by human error — by drunk drivers, road rage, and poor judgment.
In contrast, self-driving cars never get angry, drunk, or distracted.
Waymo’s cars see 360 degrees, up to the length of three football fields away and can simultaneously track many objects around them — even in the dark of night, thanks to three different types of sensors aboard each car. The software recognizes bicyclists and their hand signals, motorcycles, pedestrians big and small, and even strange situations that few, if any, people will ever encounter on the road. Riding in one was astounding, but to tell you the truth, it felt no different than having a driver in the car with me.
While self-driving cars could mean safer roads for everyone, they represent something else to me: freedom. Today, 16 million Americans are unable to drive because of a disability. Of those, 1.3 million Americans are legally blind, and 678,000 Americans between the ages of four and 20 have a visual disability.
We in the blind community rely on others to get around— but if the bus is late or our friends or family are unable to give us a ride, we’re stuck. It’s of little surprise that more than 500,000 people with disabilities never leave their homes simply because of transportation difficulties.
But autonomous vehicles can give people with disabilities the independence and mobility we once enjoyed — and for countless others, it can grant them independence for the very first time in their lives.
It’s not just people with disabilities that will benefit; 16 million senior citizens live in communities where public transportation is poor or nonexistent. Autonomous vehicles can help them visit their grandkids and enjoy their wellearned retirement. That’s a bright future worth working towards — and after my ride, I know it’s just around the corner.
My ride was just a taste of what the world will be like: ordinary, but self-driving. Just as the Wright Brothers opened the skies to human travel and Henry Ford made it possible for everyday families to afford an automobile, self-driving cars are ushering in a transportation revolution that will bring safety and independence to millions of Americans just like me.
I’m ready for my car to take the wheel.
Regarding the NFL players kneeling during our national anthem: I’m baffled by the White House’s framing this to be unpatriotic and disrespectful of our flag and our military. I see this as three of our First Amendment rights: freedom of speech, the right to peaceably assemble and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. The NFL players are drawing attention to their grievance — police brutality against African-Americans.
I was raised to respect the First Amendment. My father was a lifelong Republican,
The rash of hazing deaths that occur each year can no longer be swept under the carpet. Hazing is a ritual that spans cultures and is used to initiate new members into an organization, such as a military unit, fraternity, gang or sports team. If the prospective member is qualified to join and will contribute to the organization, why haze? It seems the psychology behind hazing lies in the reality that those who have power over those who do not will freely abuse that power for sadistic self-gratification. This, in turn, leads to brutal and dangerous ritual techniques.
The only way to make hazing safer is to criminalize, without exception, rituals that are inherently illegal — like forcing underage alcohol consumption — and rituals that can reasonably be expected to lead to bodily harm, injury or death. Vigorous criminal prosecution and expulsion are essential.