Thursday, June 15, 2006
Two cars used in a street race and seized by police were destroyed by York
Regional Police, Thursday. (CBC)
"Police say 34 people have died as a result of street racing in the Greater Toronto Area since 1999."
Source: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/...et-racing.html
I agree, those that commit the violent acts need to stand up and be accountable for their actions, but I don't agree with them taking away everyones freedom.
I see the future as follows:
Technology will advance to a point where all cars will be fully autonomous. Cars without this technology will be banned. Manual driving will be a thing of the past. The cars will drive within parameters established by the government. Any attempt to modify the cars will immediately trigger a violation and notify police.
This technology will not be cheap. As a result, car ownership will be a luxury and reserved for the wealthy. Everyone else will walk, bike, or take mass transit. Or ride Segways.
Support for my theory:
I'm not sure how many are aware of this, but there is a revolution starting to happen in the insurance world called "Pay As You Drive" or PAYD insurance. It is starting out as an option for drivers who drive less and want to save money. If driver "A" drives twice as much as driver "B", driver A statically has twice the risk of driver "B". However, currently driver A and B pay the same insurance rate if all other things are equal. PAYD insurance is currently being promoted in several states by offering tax cuts to insurance companies offering PAYD insurance. Their goals are to reduce traffic congestion, traffic accidents, and emissions. IE the more you drive the more you pay.
PAYD insurance requires devices attached to your vehicle to tell how much you drive. Some are time based and some are mileage based. Some use GPS , satellite, cellphone technology, or a combination of the three to communicate with your car.
The benefits of this is that it gives insurance companies an acurate way to calculate your risk. Another benefit is crash data. If you have an accident, the police and insurance companies can retrieve information to recreate the incident. If you have OnStar or an embedded car chip your vehicle already has this capability.
Reply With Quote