Will Technology Kill the Joy of Driving

In the last few years the idea of a self-driving car has hit the scene in a big way, claiming that if we were to take out the human element traffic accidents and deaths due to those accidents will be decreased significantly. This all sounds great for the day to day grind in traffic, just imagine getting up at 5 am getting ready for your hour long commute to work. It sounds pretty horrible, what if you could go back to seep in your car? Now that would be great! On the other hand knowing the way the government is they would make it so that cars are all controlled by a massive traffic controlling computer. Now I don’t know about you but I for one enjoy the feeling of pressing the pedal and hearing the turbo spool up. Feeling the press into the seat by the extra horsepower from that turbocharger is a great sensation. I love driving maybe not in traffic but when the road is empty it is a great thrill to be behind the wheel.

The joy of driving is an interesting thought, on the one hand yes it is tedious getting on the highway and doing the day to day thing. On the other hand get on a curvy road and let rip (following the speed limit of course) is a great release. There are roads in the US alone that people travel from all over the world to drive on, The “Tail of the Dragon” on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina is just such a road. Now why would people come from so far away for a road? Well the joy of driving is exactly why there is nothing like handling the curves at a good clip with the wind in your hair and felling car pitch as you hit switchback after switchback. The Feeling of the acceleration and G forces as they pull you left and right in the seat while you control your car through each intricate section of this amazing drive that winds through the mountains. Yes there are some downsides, like the fact that you can crash your car at any moment. There is even a “Tree of Shame” which is a big tree at the beginning of the road where you hang parts of wrecked cars that have been crashed in the course of the drive. Each year the tree is emptied and it only takes a few months to be covered all over again.

On this tree can be found pieces of cars and bikes, from the cheapest Honda Civic to a head light from a Ferrari Enzo that was totaled 2 years ago it is all there. This may all seem a bit insane but it all comes back to the love of driving and the need for speed. The best way to put it is… no matter how the technology changes we will all find a way to make ourselves happy. For those of us that love speed we all want one thing, please don’t take our joy away by making only computer controlled cars.