[Heinleinian]

P.S. For added hilarity, the story directly below this one on HN is about cell phone tracking, where the top post is all talk of going without cell phones because the device's tracking could infringe on people's freedom.

Which is the scarier dystopia? Your phone keeps a running tab on your location, which could be accessed by the state or Google? Or your mode of transportation is tracking you, _and can be over-ridden or disabled at any time by the state or by Google_...

[skyhook_mockups]

I'm FAR more frightened of being t-boned by a drunk driver than of big brother taking control of my car. Honestly can't tell if you are trolling or serious.

[Heinleinian]

I was seriously trolling, also known as taking an idea to its logical extreme to make a point.

You're presenting a false choice here. There's lots of other ways to attack the drunk driving problem without taking everyone's drivers licenses away and banning normal driving, as the OP was advocating.

[skyhook_mockups]

Ok I see what you were getting at now but I still don't agree with your conclusions and here's why:

1. Anti-drink driving campaigns and counter measures don't work. People make the choice to drive while drunk when their decision making powers are at their worst.

2. The issue with human controlled driving goes far deeper than just DUI. The fact is that we're (collectively) just not very good at it. Even if you are the best, most cautious most defensive driver there's nothing you can do about some idiot running a red light because he was adjusting his stereo. Your perfect driving record is intact but you're dead anyway.

3. The chance of being injured or killed while driving are astronomically higher than the chance of big brother having the motive/inclination to want to remotely control your car (although I might feel differently if I lived in Syria - even then this is getting really close to tinfoil hat territory).

The way I see it computer controlled cars shouldn't be seen as curtailing freedoms, rather as relieving us from tedium and making us safer.

[com]

I don't think your point 1 is as true as you think it is. Anti-drink driving campaigns seem to work: http://www.thecommunityguide.org/mvoi/massmedia_ajpm.pdf describes studies that identified significant (>15%) reductions in alcohol related accidents, with economic payoffs during the campaigns of more than 20x.

[skyhook_mockups]

That's certainly a LOT better than I would have thought, although still depressingly short of the 100% reduction that computer controlled cars would give us.

[com]

I doubt we'd see a 100% reduction of accident injuries and fatalities with automated control of cars - diminishing returns due to other uncontrolled factors like pedestrians, dropped loads, pathological algorithm responses in unusual situations etc. Of course, spending 6x as much on road-safety campaigns as in the referenced studies won't deliver anything like a 6x improvement either.

[batista]

Then you'll love the MS AutoCar 2020.

It has a top of the line electronic routing OS, designed by Visual Basic veterans.