Why I am against self-driving cars

This weekend was my one glorious weekend of the month when I had a car. I always look forward to this weekend. So many things I can do, and so easily and efficiently! Freedom! Independence! The joy of the wind blowing through my hair--wait, what? No. No wind in the hair. Scratch that.

This month, I rented a Toyota Prius. Not by choice--that is what they offered. It's an odd car. It has a park button. And a weird gear shift. I don't even know how to describe it. Basically, the shifter (name of this thing, anyone?) always pops back to start after you switch positions. It's more like a joystick than a gearshift, is the best I can describe it. And that's not even really accurate.

Which is completely irrelevant to anything, but odd, and therefore, it must be mentioned.

The Joystick Gearshift

Anyway, most weekends that I rent a car, I run errands, visit family, and try to get stuff done. But there is one thing I always wish I could do: drive. 

I know, I know, I'm driving to do all that other stuff. But somehow, there is just never enough driving in the weekend. I mean, apart from the fact that I paid for the car and feel like I should make the most of it, rather than have it sit in the parking lot for 70 of the 72 hours I have it, I just miss driving. Really miss it. Really really REALLY miss it. (Okay, maybe that is a slight overstatement, but only by one or two capital letters). So, tonight, I just drove. I was going to just head home, and then I thought, "I've paid for this gas, I'm going to use it up." (Do you know how long it takes to use up gas in a hybrid car? A lot of miles, that's for sure!). So I just kept on going, and I drove and drove and drove and drove, for almost an hour. Not to anywhere in particular, just driving to drive. Following roads until they ended, then picking up a new one, on and on. It was beautiful. The driving that is. It was dark outside, so the scenery didn't come into the picture.

And that, friends, is why I oppose self-driving vehicles. It has nothing to do with anything else, really (although, of course I try to come up with logical arguments to save face). The reality is I don't want a car that drives itself. I  want to drive the car. I've done the bus thing, I know what it's like to just be a passenger in a vehicle that requires no input on my part. It's not all it's cracked up to be. It's incredibly dull, really. And it is not the same experience as driving a vehicle at all. It really isn't. 

So, yeah, I know that these self-driving cars are supposed to be safer, and can do all this cool stuff, and everybody is jumping on the bandwagon. And maybe I'm a dinosaur. But I'll pass on the self-driving car. Give me the wheel any day.

Roar.

This post was brought to you by:

The gang at Enterprise Rent-a-Car (including Ron and Alvin)

Toyota and its odd Prius

Hybridization

Huron River Drive

Grove Street

The Piano Guys (great driving music!)

Key fobs

and the internets