I had the privilege to hear the Hon, Leeanne Enoch, then Queensland Minister for Small Business, Science and Innovation speak at a Logan Chamber of Commerce business breakfast. For many in the audience, the story she told was a wake up call to the changing world we will be living in.
Leeanne spoke about how her first son, now 20, was so eager to get his drivers licence at age 16. He was completing his logbook and pestering his mum for driving lessons to complete his logbook hours. As soon as he turned 17 he was going for his ‘P’ drivers licence. For many readers this is the same situation many of us went through.
But for her second son, now 16, the experience is completely different. His mum wants him to get his licence so he is independent to drive himself places. He has no interest in getting his licence, to his mums obvious disapproval. But why isn’t he bothered with getting his licence? Well his debate is one his mother, an exceptional politician, couldn’t question! To paraphrase the Minister and her son-
“Mum, why is having a drivers licence so important? I/m 16 and I take the bus. But in a only a few years if I want to go somewhere I will take a car, but it won’t be the same way we currently use them. I won’t own a car. This will save me money by not having to buy one, maintain it and pay insurance on something I only use a few hours a week. Instead, I will pay for the hire of a car. I will use my smart phone, or another mobile device, to order a car to come pick me up. This will be similar to the current car sharing economy apps we already use.
I won’t be needing my licence. In fact, needing to know how to drive a car will be unnecessary. The car that comes to pick me up will be selfdriving. It will be one of the many different types of self driving cars that are being tested right now! The car will pick me up, drop me off to where I have ordered it to drop me off. The car will then drive off to pick up its next passenger.”
To further her son’s argument-
The car will be in use 24/7. This means we will see the age of vehicles on the road reduce to be no older then 5 years as they will quickly rack up the kilometres.
It will also mean reduced need for parking space and storage of cars in home garages or on streets. In fact, the cost of the fair will be reduced by selecting to share a car with others also going in your direction. This will reduce the number of cars on the road. We will also have less environmental emissions as a result. Not just because we are using electric cars, but because they will be powered by more environmentally friendly sources of energy as solar.
That is an argument that is being had today. What arguments will be had in 5 years time with teenagers?