For long highway drives, why not create a new lane along every major highway - an "autopilot lane" - that controls the steering and velocity of the vehicles that enter the lane. New cars can be built with (and many older cars can be retrofitted with) a sensor that "reads" transmitters embedded in the road to maintain a safe distance between vehicles, and at the same time, allows them to travel much faster than if they remained under human control.
As one important safety benefit, long-distance truck drivers could actually take naps! The "autopilot" service would indicate clearly when human attention is needed.
The entry point to the autopilot lane would have to determine that the vehicle is equipped for "autopilot" mode. Also, I would charge a toll for this premium service, enough to recoup the cost of building and maintaining the autopilot lane and service.
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I have been thinking of the same idea for years. It wouldn't take much equip a car with a camara to sense the lines on the road. Another sensor on the rear of the car could be used to ensure a safe distance. If the road becomes too congested to ensure a safe distance, the autopilot would shut-off after a warning. In case of an emergency stop (deer hit) the distance sensors would relay the information to cars in the rear and stop their cars as well. A camara system may not work well with all weather conditions; snow, ice, rain or fog. However, passive sensor could be incorporated into the line paint for IR detection. Think about the cost savings for long-haul transport? One driver across the US in less than 40 hours?
There are a lot of details to work out, but this is a gem of an idea that's time has come.
I don't think a camera system is feasible. I was thinking more of embedding a strip along the center of the road to sense vehicles passing above it and sends signals up to control those vehicles. You'd need good fences to keep animals out, but that seems feasible. As you say, the potential cost savings is enormous, not to mention the saving of lives!
This is an idea who's time has come. I think of this as rather a more efficient traffic management thing. Particularly evident in the wake of hurricane Rita. Traffic issues are usally caused by poor decisions being made by indivisual drivers - i.e. gaper delays, people who tailgate then have to mash on the brakes, people who are cut off, speeding, slowpokes, etc... This creates a wave like effect on those in traffic behind that individual - snarling traffic, creating more opportunites for accidents. A system such as this would be particualrly effective in evacuation situations. In everyday life, it could function much like HOV (high occupancy vehicles)lanes do today. Smoothing traffic flow, saving fuel and lives. Regular lanes could still exist for those who choose not to participate.
Great idea.When the strip runs out, an alarm might sound (if the driver chooses). If the driver doesn't take back control, the vehicle pulls over. When it hits a deer, again it pulls over immediately. I don't think we need fancy systems for telling other cars what's up. Not to mention those are hackable systems.
Something else that would make this strip much better is a way of wirelessly recharging electric vehicles that move along the strip.