Self Driving Car Traffic Jam
The news went viral about a situation in Texas where a number of self driving cars were found in a traffic jam in Austin.
The vehicle and foot traffic in the region had been busy and that apparently contributed to the problem but it also would have been a clever marketing tactic for the company if it had been done on purpose it seems because of the attention that the situation reaped from people wondering what was going on.
However, drivers might not have been too happy in the area to find themselves stuck on the road and wondering what to do.
There is a growing number of autonomous vehicles working around the United States today and who knows how much longer it might take before this becomes more widespread. Will they offer a faster option for consumers? Is it going to be cheaper? There is also plenty of demand for flying vehicles to hurry up and get started serving in the market too. Not just to rent but to buy there is also huge demand for such a transportation option. How much longer is the market going to have to wait to see that become the norm?
Will it ever be widespread like we see taxi options today?
The self driving car market is expected to reach hundreds of billions in revenue eventually and is already valued a few years ago to be worth tens of millions if not more.
It's estimated that this one market will keep growing for the years to come as well as more demand increases and more consumers become comfortable with this transportation method. If there is enough support then we could see it slowly change the auto industry and our traffic experiences as we know it.
While self-driving cars seem like a good idea from a safety perspective, they don't actually do anything to solve the gridlock problem which requires actually getting vehicles off the road.
It would not surprise me if a situation like this becomes more common as more and more self-driving cars mix in with human-controlled cars and pedestrians and bicyclists. We still have a long way to go with this technology!
choosing to pick up and fly off when faced with gridlock is a change I welcome but who knows when that will be a reality lol :)