Driverless Cars are the Solution, Says Randal O'Toole

Posted by: Tim Halbur

6 November 2009 - 9:00am

Promoting his upcoming book on transportation planning, Randal O'Toole says his central argument is that rail is a dead end and driverless car technologies are the answer to our congestion problems.

O'Toole's argument is that since mass transit of any kind can never approximate the personal mobility afforded by the automobile, and expanding highways is politically difficult, the only solution is to make the highways we have more effective. And that means technologies that take control of your car on the freeway so you can zoom along in sync with the other cars at higher speeds.

"Because computer response times are much faster than those of a human, cars controlled by on-board computers can operate much more closely to one another than human-controlled cars. This means that highway lanes that can now move only about 2,000 vehicles per hour will be able to move 6,000 to 8,000 vehicles per hour.

Unlike the infamous flying cars, driverless car technologies are not pie in the sky.'"

Full Story: The Ultimate Transportation Antiplanning Book

Source: The Antiplanner, November 5, 2009

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elroy

Submitted by Jon on Sat, 11/07/2009 - 00:59.

except the rail is the optical guidance and the track is the road. so he's suggesting PRT or AGT for 1 or 2 people.

elroy jetson would love this

ha ha!

Submitted by Wells on Fri, 11/06/2009 - 11:34.

Thanks for the laugh, Planetizen. Driverless cars! Whoohoo!

Let's think about that for two seconds

Submitted by Esullivan on Fri, 11/06/2009 - 09:45.

A. The most expensive part of local package delivery is the package vehicle driver.
B. Driverless delivery vehicles eliminate the most expensive part of local package delivery.
C. Delivery vehicles proliferate exponentially due to the reduction in labor cost.
D. The Human Millennium Ensues as Congestion is Reduced?

Thank you again, Randal.

Or Imagine, if You Will:

8,000 driverless vehicles per hour per lane speeding along at high velocity and in close proximity, and some miscreant generates an EMF pulse strong enough to addle the onboard computers...

Hint: 'Majority Report' was a MOVIE, you know, sort of like 'Things to Come'...