Will Self-Driving Cars Be a Realtor’s Best Friend?

After 194,000 miles, it was time to get a new car. In truth, we kept the car with 194,000 miles on it because it is a part of our family. We purchased it a few months before our daughter was born and it has been the tot-rod for more than a decade. On principle, we plan to make it to 200,000, despite needing to put in a $900 fuel pump this week.

Self Awareness

Like all things new, our new car is amazing. What astounds us is that the vehicle is self aware. By self-aware, I mean that it has a bunch of sensors that collect information about what is in its surroundings. It was not really a feature that was high on our list when we shopped, but it has become my best friend. Last week, I drove from Los Angeles up the coast to San Luis Obispo without touching the accelerator or the brake pedal. I set the cruise control at 75 and the car did the rest – including navigating through stop and go traffic.

Learning to Trust

My wife has been driving nearly 30 years and she refuses to use cruise control. I must admit, learning to trust that this new car was not going to crash into the stopped vehicle in front of me was a real test of my ability to learn to trust. With my current car, I am trusting it to do the footwork of brake and accelerator, but I am in charge of steering. But not fully.

The new car has lane awareness, too. If my car begins to drift outside of its lane, the steering wheel vibrates and the brakes are gently applied to either the left or right side of the car as necessary to correct the lane position. Of course, my steering will override that system, but it knows what is going on.