Here at Splitwise we talk a lot about roommates, money and fairness. While that is fun and all we don’t spend our entire lives thinking about these 3 things. We also like other stuff, like science and technology. This week California’s governor Jerry Brown signed the SB1298 bill into effect. This bill states that driverless cars can now operate on California’s state roads legally.
According to Sergey Brin at Google, people will be riding in these autonomous vehicles within a year and the technology will be available to the average Joe within five years. According to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study the addition of autonomous crash-avoidance systems to vehicles could stop up to 81% of vehicle crashes. Imagine a world where cars don’t randomly switch lanes in heavy traffic without looking behind them or using a turn signal!
I personally hate driving anywhere, so I think this is awesome. While I’m not sure how I would feel about riding in one on a daily basis, I really want to take a spin in a car where I can sit back and let a computer drive. Talk about taking the stress out of commuting, especially in more congested urban areas (I’m looking at you Boston and San Francisco). What would you do with that extra “me time” that you gain by not driving your daily commute?
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