Self-driving, Electric Vehicles (cars and trucks) / Huge disruption coming.

[ChewChewTrain]

Self-driving, electric vehicles will affect many industries and jobs. I had read that 1 in 7 jobs in the USA is connected to the automobile industry.

I predict this...

1) Because self-driving cars will have fewer accidents, kiss your local automotive body repair businesses goodbye.

2) Because of fewer accidents, insurance companies will make less money. Insurance premiums will fall through the floor do to less risk.

3) Taxi drivers will be a nostalgic memory seen in the old movies.

4) Buses and their drivers will be replaced by thousands of self-driving, autonomous cars that will dart around the city.

5) Long haul truckers will disappear. I predict self-driving, long haul trucks will go to huge terminals outside major metropolitan areas, where human drivers will hook up and drive the cargo the last 50 miles.

6) Because of the reliably of elector motors, auto mechanics and local auto repair shops will disappear.

7) Cities will lose parking fee revenue because self-driving cars will drop off their passenger at work and, if privately owned, the car will return home and park. Or, if someone is shopping, the car will simply circle the block to avoid a parking fee until you hail it to go home.

8) Parking enforcement officers and parking meter construction companies will disappear.

9) Cities will lose traffic violation fees, because self-driving cars will stop properly at every stop sign and obey the speed limits, which I'm pretty sure will drive Draigflag crazy.

10) Gas stations will be something to describe to your grandkid's children.

11) Because of no traffic accidents, hospitals and medical professionals will be affected because the 30,000 accident victims (USA) and all the normal follow on treatment will disappear.

12) UPS and FedEx drivers are at risk, because a self-driving truck will pull up to your home at the time you designate, the vehicle will ping you when it arrives, and you will enter your code on the truck to have the proper package given to you.

13) Because self-driving cars are connected to the internet, cops can simply shut off your car during a chase. What chase? Right. Because a self-driving car will not go faster than the speed limit.

Can you think of anything else?

[Draigflag]

I was thinking about this the other day. I Think Autoshops will still be popular, as a regular car spends 94-96% of its life parked, if this changes to 40-50%, auto consumables will increase. So garages will be changing tyres, brake pads, bulbs, suspension components, bearings, bushes and the like way sooner, and way more often than from regular usage. The average car might do 80,000 to 100,000 miles a year in the future, as it's shared so will be doing pick ups and drop offs for multiple families.

Also, to cater for the choices and preferences of multiple families, cars will have LED infused paintwork that changes colour to suit people's preferences. Perhaps different mood lighting, a coffee machine, all these additions and modifications will be added and removed by mechanics as time goes on, depending how, where and who shares the vehicle.

Car's will be able to do 100-150 maybe even 200 MPH safely as they will all be connected, and be self aware, knowing that no silly actions will be taken by a driver. Computers can make thousands of choices a second, humans can't, and yet it's still perfectly legal to drive 200 MPH on German Autobahns remember! Journey times will fall 50%. Traffic jams won't exist as the cars networked together, will be aware of how many vehicles are within a vicinity, and purposely avoid that area, using detours and alternative routes where possible, even reducing speed on the approach to allow traffic to clear. All things stupid humans don't anticipate.