He doesn’t have any firm numbers, but Barrie Kirk has a feeling.
The Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence executive director just knows that once humans no longer have to pump the brakes and jerk the wheel of their autonomous vehicles, their ingrained habits will give way to exploits of a carnal nature.
Yes, some people are predicting fleets of rolling bedrooms coursing their way through commuter traffic. Don’t tell Helen Lovejoy.
“That’s one of several things people will do which will inhibit their ability to respond quickly when the computer says to the human, ‘Take over,'” Kirk told The Canadian Press (via CBC).
Canadian officials, like those the world over, are trying to figure out how to regulate the predicted wave of self-driving vehicles. Over-confidence of a vehicle’s autonomous systems on the part of the occupant is one worry that’s popped up among bureaucratic circles.
Those fears were compounded when videos arose of Tesla owners taping themselves performing (fairly mundane) activities while their vehicle was in “autopilot” mode.
“People will not be able to respond in time,” Kirk said.
Will it be “eyes on the road, hands near the wheel” once transportation regulators finish their task? Canada’s most populous province, Ontario, already has loose regulations in effect to ensure there’s an occupant in the driver’s seat of an autonomous vehicle in case emergency intervention is needed.
There’s no word yet on whether Ontario, or other jurisdictions for that matter, will allow Dodge Monaco-sized front bench seats in their self-driving cars.
It’s too bad the “bed in a car” Nash brand is long gone.
Obviously, this is one of those “down the road” issues that people get their knickers in a twist about early on, but regulations have a way of happening eventually, even with the slow wheels of bureaucracy driving them.
So, what will occupants of self-driving cars be allowed to do once governments have their way? Where would you draw the line? Keep in mind that this issue reaches well beyond lewd escapades, and into the realm of napping.
Motel proprietors and window tinting companies anxiously await the outcome of this debate.
[Image: Insomnia Cured Here/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)]
That’s what I’ve been saying (“Carpools are gonna be interesting now!”). I can’t imagine how boring it will be having to ‘pretend’ drive while the car gets along just fine, though. Getting a BJ should be all right, though.
I certainly hope so ~ last year I was driving up the twisty Pasadena Freeway early one Saturday morning when a weaving Jaguar passed me with two early 40’s very well dressed men in it , a while later I caught up to them dawdling along in the fast lane , only one head was now visible and the car was barely remaining in it’s lane ~ I tried passing on the extreme right but they suddenly sped up , crossed over all three lanes in front of me and as the freeway made a sharp left curve they hit the high curb going about 75 MPH , the Jag went nose up in the air and crashed to the ground ~ I called the Highway Patrol and left , some time later I drove by and both men were standing beside the now ruined Jaguar as a tow truck winched if off the cement embankment .
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Here’s to self driving cars I guess .
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-Nate
Bertel approves matching this title with the headline photo.
No way, they left out the bondage gear.
Meh. Driving while getting a beej is something one should have mastered by 18. Driving while she’s cowboy’ed up takes a bit more practice, but hardly difficult – in the appropriate car ‘natch.
1940 Nash Ambassador – one of my favorite pre-war cars.
Also the Shark Nosed Grahams….
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-Nate
i still recall riding in the 1949 two-tone green nash ‘fastback my father had when i was a very young child. a pretty cool car, as i recall. wished it was still around by the time i finally got my license.
“Honey, put that thing in the cooler and go wash up. Now both your hands smell like fish!”
Dammit, you beat me to it.
Well, they’re gonna be smelling like something completely different in a few, from the looks of it…
That looks like his son, not his wife… ew.
Instead of the “mile high club” we will have a “mile a minute club”.
I can picture the new warning label on the visor, “Don’t lose your head while getting head”.
or
“Auto pilot may need to disengage abruptly and so might you.”
Nerds Expect: Rise In Self-Driving Car Fornication
Nerds Get: Rise In Self-Driving Car Self-Fornication
I dunno, this is already so easy even with one hand on the wheel I can’t imagine self-driving will make much difference….
It’s got to be just a bit too difficult to manga and drive.
Which will invariably lead to jokes about only lasting a minute.
Performance anxiety, dontcha know…
Mile High Club never interested me. If ever there was a place that inspires zero desire, it’s an airplane bathroom. Tiny, smelly outhouse in the sky, or wait an hour and get to a nice hotel room? I can wait.
Does this mean cars can start having minibar options once they’re self driving?
Stuck in traffic? Have a nice gin and tonic, courtesy of Bombay Blue Sapphire. The freshest way to pass your drive home.
The Queen approves of this message.
I envision that once cars are self-driving, I’ll get a van with a shower and an elliptical machine in it. No more wasting time commuting.
What fun is that?
Besides, you know how many calories you can burn in flagrante delicto?
Different strokes. Besides, I’m not taking my wife to the office.
FreedMike – one might be consuming calories
Will the sound system come pre-loaded with this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YyTp9swrso
Well, at least it will be safer than such activities are now. ;)
Only if the participants take advantage of the condom dispenser accessory.
Far more interesting while “fornicating” while driving, an ’89 manual shift Ford Probe, on the interstate…I’ve said too much already.
Does the ’89 Probe fornicate your wallet?
Or will AI surpass humanity by locking our honeycomb of conciousness into one giant wet dream?
Gimmee!
The comment, “Getting stuck in traffic sucks” will never mean the same again.
How PG-13 rated can the can the comments get before they get removed? I’m guessing they are safe as long as they contain fewer “bad words” than original author’s posts tend to have.
Okay, then, a modern update on an old joke:
“Why did the condom go flying out the car window?
It got pissed off!”
Sybian will be the new Recaro.
That Nash in the poster above looks very comfortable and roomy. To get that kind of roominess today you would have to buy a full size crew cab pickup which is one reason why full size pickups are selling so well.
You don’t need autonomous cars to make this happen… just cruise control and a couple dozen miles of flat, empty Florida highway.
A former colleague told me she had sex on a Harley while travelling down the highway. So where there is a will there is a way.
I finally understand the appeal of ape hangers and floor boards.
Of course now. I could have made better use of this technology back in the late 80’s & early 90’s when I had a psycho (and frequently chemically altered) girlfriend.
Kidding , right ? .
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My psycho-bitch ex G.F. loved getting live in the car , more so than in bed .
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She was really happy when I bought a Convertible as she liked it with the top down , I got pretty good at figuring out how to park almost everywhere where no one was likely to walk up while we were busy…
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To date the very best sex I ever had but the psycho part wasn’t fun , after we wound up on the front page of the Sunday papers (not for sex related things) I called it quits .
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-Nate