Should schools begin to phase out driver ed due to driverless cars coming to the market.

[CK_John]

Also will a lic driver be required at all or can a 13 yr take the car to the mall?

So many questions, so many car lobbyists, so many local politicians to convince.

[Cal Carpenter]

1. I think this is the most important issue in the upcoming presidential election. n/t

[CK_John]

3. I agree.

[brush]

61. Like all the millions of cars that need a driver are not going to be used?

What is it with this OP?

[NuclearDem]

64. Oh stop.

[seabeyond]

2. schooled phased it out long ago, and had nothing to do with what you are talking.

dont know where you are, but hasnt been here for a handful of years.

[B2G]

7. NC still has school based drivers ed.

Many states do.

[cwydro]

36. That's how I learned.

Last edited Mon May 4, 2015, 11:43 AM - Edit history (1)

I will never forget Mr. Moose lol,

Fantastic teacher. I've been a very safe and defensive driver my whole life thanks to him.

He wouldn't be employed today lol - he called us names sometimes.

But we were tougher than the teens of today - we knew he meant it for our own good.

[B2G]

72. Lol. Mine too

He was the wrestling coach. I was behind the wheel one day and he screamed at me to stop. He got out and tossed a dead raccoon on the floorboard. Said that's a damn fine pelt right there. Then told me to get a move on or we'd be late.

I eventually recovered from the trauma. Lol.

[cwydro]

73. We were tougher kids lol

and being yelled at never really bothered us.

We just LISTENED. I thank Mr. Moose every day. He taught me well, maybe saved my life.

[B2G]

75. Wheels wouldn't make it a week in today's schools

But we all loved him.

[cwydro]

77. ...

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

4. Driverless ed.?

Actually, my d.e. teacher would probably say that's what it was like riding with me behind the wheel.

[RKP5637]

51. LOL!!!!!

[immoderate]

5. How about "passenger education?"

--imm

[sakabatou]

6. No. Not everyone will have a driverless car.

Even if everyone did, knowing how to drive is a needed skill for anyone who has a car.

[Journeyman]

8. Since the Kindle added text-to-speech, my local schools have phased out reading . . .

[Motown_Johnny]

9. and math classes, because of calculators.

[DanTex]

10. Maybe they should replace it with "drone piloting ed".

[hunter]

11. It's been phased out here because kids and their parents simply can't afford kids driving.

Insurance, the cost of gas, with one or two parents working who can barely afford the cars they themselves drive to work in.

Those kids who have access to a car have to pay for private classroom and behind the wheel training themselves.

Car safety is taught -- use your seat belts and don't drive drunk, don't drive with drunks, and don't let your friends drive drunk -- but it's a completely different world from when I was a kid with a free public school semester of drivers education and General Motors/AAA subsidized behind the wheel training, classes usually taught by the P.E. teachers and sports coaches.

Most kids in our community don't bother to get drivers licenses until after they've graduated from high school.

[Codeine]

12. The universal availability of finger foods

means we've decided not to bother teaching our children how to use spoons and forks.

[MineralMan]

13. Do you really suppose that driverless cars are going to

be the majority of vehicles 20 years from now? It's not going to happen. Cost is the reason. Cost of the technology in vehicles and the cost of modifying our roadways to make such cars capable of safe travel are so high that we're not going to see some sort of revolution in cars. Heck, we can't even fix our current roads' potholes and bridges. You'll still be steering your own vehicle 20 years from now, I guarantee.

BUY the NEW Chevy AutoCar! Technology by Microsoft!

I don't think so.

[CK_John]

16. Spain is already allowing driveless trucks, Nevada and California already allow testing.

Roads do not have be changed.

Audi gets first California permit to test self-driving cars on public roads and highways.


http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/innovation/california-begins-issuing-permits-testing-self-driving-cars-n204906

Convoy driving...

[MineralMan]

17. It's not happening.

I guarantee it. We can't afford it. It's a cool idea, but is far more costly than you can imagine. Driverless cars can function only on controlled access roadways. On our surface streets, it could only work if every vehicle was driverless and networked to prevent accidents.

I'll give you an example from my drive to the supermarket this morning. I watched a UHaul truck pull out of a the UHaul place. It pulled out in front of a car, which stopped successfully to avoid a collision. I was behind this situation. The UHaul truck then made an unsignalled lane change into an access lane to a nearby freeway. Another car had to slam on its brakes to avoid being clipped by the truck.

Next, from the exit ramp on that freeway, a driver turned left in front of the UHaul truck on a red light to get on the surface street the truck was on. Another collision was narrowly avoided. Finally, the UHaul truck blew through another red light to turn left and get on the freeway onramp. Yet another collision was narrowly avoided by an observant driver who didn't enter the intersection as soon as the light changed.

Now, driverless vehicles might have avoided all that, if they were networked and never violated any traffic laws. But, as long as there is uncontrolled access on surface streets, driverless cars will be involved in accidents when vehicles with drivers do unexpected things. Driverless cars are controlled by computer algorithms with data from sensors. Cars with drivers are controlled by human drivers who can see a dangerous situation developing and avoid the problem, if the driver is paying attention. Yet, we still have accidents.

You will still be manually driving a car 20 years from now.

[REP]

24. There are self-driving cars all over city streets in Mountain View, Los Altos, Scummyvale etc CA

These are far from "controlled access" roads.

[BlueJazz]

27. I suspect many towns would not be in favor of losing a source of revenue. Not just traffic...

....tickets and such but also the excuse to search your car...."Looking suspicious" and all that crap.
Also, seems to me that people like to be in control whether it's for fun or status or popularity, (especially among the young).

[MineralMan]

28. I doubt that will play any role at all.

Seems sort of silly to me.

[BlueJazz]

32. You must not live in the south or do not have very much experiance with human nature.

Your words are inaccurate in this modern world...or you have the mistaken assumption that most people are as honest or logical as you..

Never mind: You're from Minnesota. I understand.

[cwydro]

37. I think that if I were you

I might have alerted the local sheriff's office .

[MineralMan]

40. To what end? In the first place, this happened in the

city of Maplewood. As soon as the UHaul truck got on the freeway, it was the State Patrol's jurisdiction. By the time anyone responded, it would be over, and there was no accident in the first place. No point in reporting it. It was just bad driving on several people's part.

[cwydro]

41. Maybe I misread your post.

I took it that the uhaul driver was a complete nitwit.

I do call on bad drivers. Not 911, because it's not usually an emergency, but I do report bad drivers.

[MineralMan]

70. The UHaul driver had probably never driven a

Closed truck before. He didn't use he's side mirrors, and didn't know how it accelerated. Two other drivers also made judgment errors. It was a comedy of errors, that fortunately didn't result in an accident.

As for reporting such things, what do you expect to happen? It's a random UHaul truck on the first weekend of the month. Which truck was it? They're all out on the road, moving people into their new digs. In a major metro area, do you think the police are going to stop every UHaul truck?

The point of my reply was that self-driving vehicles are not going to do any better than human drivers in situations like that.

[Lancero]

53. Back in the past, many people believed the automobile would never replace the horse and buggy...

[rjsquirrel]

68. Actually

Current driverless technology could handle that.

I'm old enough and well off enough to love driving and not give a damn. Enjoy your future. It makes me sad most people will never know the thrill of a finely tuned sports car on the 101. But then most people today have never known the thrill of riding a horse. Their loss, the price of progress.

I'm gonna buy a new Miata and drive off into the sunset, at 70 around the curves.

We are a decade away from all driverless fleets. At that point I'll move if I have to. Nothing ... well, only a few things ... Gives me greater pleasure.

Also electric cars run on coal.

[Logical]

80. Wow, your lack of knowledge about technology advancement is unbelievable. nt

[Logical]

79. LOL people said the same thing about anti-lock brakes. You old timers crack me up. nt

[giftedgirl77]

14. We don't have driver's ed here in SC.

[cwydro]

39. Those of us in NC

have noticed that for years 😉

[TeeYiYi]

43. !...

TYY

[giftedgirl77]

46. lol, I say word.

I'm a transplant from Miami.

[cwydro]

47. Oh hell!

I lived in Key West for 20 some years!

Miami driving !

[giftedgirl77]

49. I love Miami driving, it's like NASCAR everyday.

You get up here & people forget what the accelerator is for & the fact that the left lane is a passing lane.

[cwydro]

59. Lol!

No doubt you cursed me on 95 sometime back in the day !

It IS like NASCAR everyday.

I still love Florida, and of course the Carolinas. My sis lives in Columbia. We Carolinians got it made. The most beautiful states, with mountains and beaches - great peeps, and lots of country.

But I still miss the Keys.

[giftedgirl77]

62. Wow, that's right down the road from me I'm in Aiken.

But this place is just too small for me I'm going mad which is sad because I'm a hermit. I think I'm going to sell my house & move to Savannah, that place has really grown on me.

[cwydro]

63. I'm a hermit too.

I live on land my dad left me near Marshville, NC.

Mom lives in Charlotte.

I love Savannah...used to be a stopping point on my journeys to and fro FL with my dogs.

[giftedgirl77]

65. My boyfriend calls me the crazy cat lady...

I have 4 cats & 4 dogs plus 2 teenage boys. My mom lives in Florida, the only time I leave is when I go to Savannah to see the boyfriend.

[cwydro]

69. Ha. I've got three cats and two dogs.

8 chickens, 12 ducks, two geese, and a mean rooster!

If you live in savannah, I'm sure you'll love it.

[cwydro]

74. Does Aiken still have the polo games?

Way back in the day we went to Aiken for polo!

[giftedgirl77]

48. The driver's ed course is privatized, it cost me close to $300

for my son to get his permit in SC. However, he was allowed to take the drivers test through them rather than at the dmv.

[giftedgirl77]

15. Kids get their permit at 15 & can drive alone at 15 1/2.

They have a restricted license in which they can only drive from 6 am until 8pm unless they get a waiver for a job or sports until 16 1/2. Then if they don't have any violations it becomes a full license.

[Agschmid]

19. It's different in every state.

[giftedgirl77]

30. Yes, I know if u see my post right above you will see I

was referring to SC.

[Agschmid]

18. No.

... not yet.

[justamama83]

20. In our district (south west NJ)

They phased out behind the wheel but still do theory and the kids take the permit test in class- which to me is wonderful saves a trip to the DMV. The state requires professional driver's lessons 6 hours of behind the wheel before they can go for the license.

[Jesus Malverde]

21. A forward looking OP

[REP]

22. What's Driver's Ed? Didn't have it my school in the early 80s.

I went to the "best" public high school in my large home city. There was no money for Driver's Ed after putting in the metal detectors and paying armed security guards.

[Freddie]

57. Mine too (Philly burbs)

Driver Ed was a budget cut in the 80's, and of course once cut it will never come back. My district has umpteen electives in everything imaginable but the one thing you absolutely need since there's no public transportation here--nada.

[ScreamingMeemie]

23. In Houston, the schools don't have drivers ed. I did parent-taught with my son.

That was a trip on Houston roadways, for sure.

[betterdemsonly]

25. No. I don't think the average person will have one for a good 30 years at least.

Rich techies at mountain view might have one, but they also have segways. Cars are becoming unaffordable to average American even without high tech devices. I also think race car enthusiast will balk at this development.

[Bjorn Against]

26. We can talk about phasing out driver's ed once self driving cars are standard

While self driving cars will probably be on the roads in the next three years or so it will probably be closer to 20 years before they are standard so it will be a while before we can phase out driver's ed.

I would guess however that once they do come out there will be less restrictions on who can operate them. Blind drivers and drunk drivers will probably be allowed, and while I suspect there will be some sort of age limit that age limit could probably be dropped to 12 or something like that.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

35. I think self driving cars will come a little soone than we think.

Once the software is developed, the mechanical piece is relatively easy. I just don't see the supposed huge costs some people are talking about.

The technology is already there and installed on a lot of mid priced cars - braking, steering, sensors etc.

[Bjorn Against]

38. I am not saying they won't be here soon

I am saying that it will take them a while to be fully adopted by the public. I plan on getting one as soon as there is one on the market that I can afford, I think this will happen in the next five to ten years. Not everyone will be ready to embrace them as fast as I am however so I expect it will be 20 before they are standard.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

50. I scoffed when my partner wanted the self-park feature on the new Focus.

It'll never fit a car in to a tight chicago parking spot, I said.

We are on our second car with it in the Escape. It works like a charm and nails it every time.

[hunter]

55. You don't live in a place where it's already been phased out?

And not because of anything so fancy as self driving cars...

I had to pay for my kids' drivers education and the insurance bill once they were licensed was brutal.

Maybe half their friends as teens didn't bother with any of that.

[Bjorn Against]

56. By phased out I meant phased out all together

I live in a place where it has been privatized, which is what I believe the situation is in most of the country. Driver's ed is mandatory for new drivers but the public schools have not offered it for years so yes, people do have to pay for it.

[LiberalAndProud]

29. I'm wondering which schools still offer drivers' ed.

??

I guess some areas have been more liberal with public school funds.

[GoneFishin]

31. I think the number of driverless cars in my area is about 5%. You can tell which ones they are

because they take longer to detect when a red light has changed to green, and the algorithms for staying in their own lane or maintaining a steady velocity are a quite buggy. The most obvious clue though, is that the passenger in the left front seat always seems to be looking down into his own lap, or into the right side passenger seat, rarely at the road.

[MineralMan]

33. We have a lot of that kind of driverless cars where I live, too.

I've changed my driving habits because of that. I no longer expect other vehicles to follow the rules of the road. Every change of a traffic light is a potential disaster, and stop signs don't matter any longer in residential neighborhoods.

Lanes? Well, they still have lines, but nobody pays any attention to those. I've also noticed that people on residential streets drive down the middle of the street by default. It's a guessing game to know whether they'll look up in time to see you coming the other way. I simply no longer assume that they will.

Yes, I've changed my driving habits a great deal in the past five years or so.

[GoneFishin]

34. Yes. I have a friend who wants to move out of his congested area because a couple of times

a day he has to swerve to avoid someone who has drifted into wrong lane.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

54. I'm seriously thinking of getting a train horn installed in my car.

It seems like 4 or 5 times a day, I'm behind some dbag checking their email or texts or whatever at a light when it turns green.

The other day, I was behind some woman checking her email/texting at three lights in a row. Each time, I gave her the friendly toot and she would pop her head up and go. On the fourt light, I laid on the horn and she looked back and held up her hands like "what?"

[GoneFishin]

66. If you had a special air horn reserved for that purpose you could refer to it's use as "texting"

the guy in front of you.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

67. I like it! Cut out the middleman, I always say!

[MineralMan]

71. Distracted drivers are really scary.

I really have changed how I drive. I just don't trust drivers to be paying attention any more. So, I'm more defensive than ever before. I can't even count how many people I've seen drive right through a four way stop intersection. I wait now, if a car is approaching, to make sure the driver is stopping. All too often, they just drive right through, without slowing at all.

[NotoriousRBG]

42. It's not that big of an issue.

[Blue_Tires]

44. What does it matter? It's not like driver's ed is a massive chunk of a school budget...

[Lee-Lee]

45. Sure, just tell all the poor youth

They can walk for the next decade or two until enough driverless cars get sold and used and actually become affordable on the used market.

Maybe you are rich enough that your kids will have brand new driverless cars. That technology, much less any regular new car, is out of reach for most.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

52. The cars will not be completely driverless. They will be capable

of being driven manually, and therefore a driver's license will be necessary. Modern airplanes can do almost everything automatically, including land, but you still have to have a pilot's license to fly them.

[Initech]

58. No car will ever be completely driver less.

There will still be a human element required to operate a vehicle to its intended destination. Most of the driverless prototypes only cover the highways and not surface streets and residential areas. Cutting drivers ed sounds like a very republican thing to do.

[CK_John]

60. Meet the new car company.

Roadtesting Google's new driverless car

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/11382073/Roadtesting-Googles-new-driverless-car.html

[tularetom]

76. Schools around here phased out drivers ed before anybody ever heard of driverless cars

So at least in this part of the world it's a moot question.

[Logical]

78. 10 to 20 years away! nt

[fadedrose]

81. Ddriverless car is a good way to learn

if a student is placed behind the wheel for training.

Circumstances may require driving experience if lights are not working, someone comes into your lane or does something illegal.


And a license is given after a test, usually, and it's not likely that every car in the US will be driverless at the same time. It will be years before everyone could afford them.