Hi Folks…

I often get asked how  driverless
cars will impact on our driver training business and while I have a “ready
answer”  it wasn’t  until I  was reading an article on how such
– if it ever materialises – would impact on those institutions which
benefit  from  ‘driven cars’  when they break the law.

Talk about a Catch 22. Driver-related
errors lead to accidents that cost society more than one and a half million
lives and 50 million injuries worldwide every year. They also generate vital
revenue for “law enforcement” authorities in the form of speeding tickets and
traffic violations.

The Brookings Institute in Washington (USA) published a fascinating
editorial on the topic alongside a report breaking down just how significant a
financial toll driverless cars could take on lost traffic violation revenue. In
the state of California alone, it nets out to hundreds of millions of dollars
in lost speeding tickets and DUIs.

“The hundreds of millions
of dollars generated from poor driving-related behaviours fund transportation
infrastructure, public schooling, judicial salaries, domestic violence
advocacy, conservation, and many others,” the Brookings Institute wrote.

The question is how this reality shapes
driverless car adoption and future laws and regulations that might help replace
lost revenue streams from traffic and parking violations. Cities have already
been waging battles against ridesharing companies like Uber, for
example, as they eat into tax revenues that they would otherwise collect from
traditional taxi services.

With that as a point of departure one
can only wonder what other obstacles “driverless cars” will face before they
become a reality.

Till next time - Don’t Drive on auto
pilot – even if you think you can.