1 to 1.5 hours per day. That is what the average Dutch working citizen spends on commuting. Of a standard working day (8 hours), that is a near 19% addition to the time spent on work. Why are we still stuck in this 20th-century loss of efficiency?
The alternative is already here, and it is far more superior than any other solution yet conceived. Just imagine: a quiet, private space, that brings you anywhere you want, without any distractions. Fully customizable, according to your wishes? You want a 55” flat screen in there? Go ahead. 7.1 Surround system with lounging chair and turntable? Comfortable bed, couch, video conferencing tools, workstation, bath? All feasible. Improving your efficiency by 19% because you can work while commuting? Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?
Guess what, the technology is already here. Autonomous driving is widely present and extensively researched by major car and tech companies. The advantages are clear: we do not need to focus on driving, so we have time for other activities, among which is working of course. You can get extra sleep so you are more focused at work, or more relaxed when you return home. But also the amount of traffic jams and accidents will decrease.
There are two things preventing us from being in the future, however. Governmental regulations and infrastructure. Autonomous driving will be a lot safer and quicker implemented when the roads, crossings, cameras and other infrastructure can communicate with the cars. The Internet of Things will aid this development, soon. Governments are careful with implementing laws that allow for a novelty like this, because the current technology is not yet fully operational with other, non-autonomous cars. One solution for this would be to exponentially increase the amount of cars with autonomous driving technology on the road.
It is like group immunity. The more people have it, the safer the entire community will be.
Society is waiting for you, autonomous driving, please hurry. We need you, and we know it.
Ps. if you are one of those people that does their make-up, reads a newspaper, watches Netflix, listens to music, shaves, talks, calls, eats, works or sleeps in their car: you are living in the future. It is just not legal yet.
