Self-Driving Cars Could Spark A Mobility Frenzy Of Untold Consequences

Dr. Lance Eliot, AI Insider

[Ed. Note: For reader’s interested in Dr. Eliot’s ongoing business analyses about the advent of self-driving cars, see his online Forbes column: https://forbes.com/sites/lanceeliot/]

Which should you do, walk or drive? That’s oftentimes a daily decision that we all need to make.

A colleague the other day drove about a half block down the street from his office, just to get a coffee from his favorite coffee shop. You might assume that foul weather prompted him to use his car for the half-block coffee quest rather than hoofing the distance on foot.

Nope, there wasn’t any rain, no snow, no inclement weather of any kind.

Maybe he had a bad leg or other ailments?

No, he’s in perfectly good health and was readily capable of strutting the half-block distance.

Here in California, we are known for our car culture and devotion to using our automobiles for the smallest of distances. Our motto seems to be that you’d be foolhardy to walk when you have a car that can get you to your desired destination, regardless of the distance involved.

Numerous publicly stated concerns have been raised about this kind of mindset.