Colcam

Now here's a really bright idea. Robotic, driverless cars . We can all stay at home and let our cars pollute the planet to death, then say it wasn't us, it was the Hummer, or the Merc. We asked it to stay at home but you know what automobiles are like these days, just wont do a thing you tell them, mind of their own. Wasn't like that when I was a boy, cars were well behaved, took advice from their owners, had a bit of respect.

On second thoughts, when I think of being out on our local roads on the motor bike, stuck behind a tourist in a Nissan Micra trying to negotiate simple bends at 30 miles per hour and slamming on the brakes every time a vehicle comes toward them, and literally mounting the verge if they encounter an oncoming truck. When I consider the state of nerves I find myself in just seeing their antics and waiting for a disaster to take place in front of my eyes...............perhaps an exception could be made. A driverless Micra would do far better on its own than one driven by the type of person who seems to buy the horrid little thing, and would even manage more than 35 miles per hour on the straight. The owner could spend his or her holidays at home, saving large amounts of money by not getting ripped off for everything from a sandwich to the obligatory fluffy Loch Ness Monster imported from China.

Sadly, I should imagine the main reason for research into robot vehicles is more aimed at the military potential. President Bush could really do wonders spreading "democracy" in oil rich Arab countries without the prospect of too many body bags returning home. Innocent women and children wiped out? Sorry, not us, weren't even there, it was the Hummer. Friendly fire casualties? Oops, sorry, not us, it was the battle tank - it caught a virus.