Rick Holmes: Reasons to welcome autonomous vehicles

Not long ago, driverless cars were more a joke than a realistic prospect. Now, suddenly, they're here.
Driverless Uber cars hit the streets of Pittsburgh last week, with humans behind the wheel ready to intervene if something goes wrong. Self-driving taxis are ferrying passengers around Singapore. Boston officials just announced a program with the World Economic Forum to see how autonomous vehicles can coexist with Boston drivers.
I thought it would take longer for the future to arrive. My goal has been to get to driverless cars before my kids started talking about taking away my keys. But change can come with lightning speed. Not long ago, our phones were just telephones. Now they are the center of our existence.
Those phones are one good reason why we should embrace driverless cars. Phones are ever more connected to our central nervous system. We hear the buzz of an incoming text, and it nearly impossible to resist the urge to answer. Accidents traced to distracted driving continue to rise. Short of a feature that turns off every device in a vehicle as long as the ignition switch is engaged - something consumers wouldn't accept - phones will always pull at drivers' attention.
So bring on the autonomous vehicles. Let the car drive the car while we play with our phones.
That's not the only thorny problem driverless cars will solve. We've been trying to stop drunk driving for decades, with some success but too many fatal failures. As marijuana use becomes normalized, stoned driving is a growing concern.
In the near future, we'll be able to relax, bring out a beer or a bong, and let the car take us safely home.
Americans are increasingly sleep-deprived, studies show, and fatigued driving may be deadlier than drunk driving. Driverless cars will let us curl up for a nap on the way to work without endangering everyone else on the road.
Traffic congestion keeps getting worse, and self-driving cars won't necessarily take cars off the road. But some portion of traffic jams can be traced to people behind the wheel: accidents caused by careless drivers, slowdowns caused by curious drivers looking at the wreckage, impatient drivers changing lanes for no good reason. Taking human drivers out of the equation should help. And while it will still be slow going during rush hour, we won't be as bothered because we'll have other things to do besides tap the brakes and curse the traffic.
Self-driving cars might not eliminate road rage - some people with short fuses just have to explode - but they would dramatically reduce most sources of conflict. They won't tailgate, cut other drivers off or run through red lights.
There will be resistance to the cars of the future; progress never comes without friction, and I understand the concerns. Fleets of 18-wheelers barreling down the highway under the control of some inhuman force sounds more like a horror movie than an advance in the quality of life. And how will smart cars and unpredictable drivers keep out of each other's way on the paved cowpaths of a city like Boston?
Self-driving cars are programmed to perform like cautious drivers, we're told. They will move with the flow of traffic, rather than strictly following the speed limits, but they won't turn right on a red light no matter how much the jerks behind them lean on their horns.
So think of it this way: What if 20 percent - or 40, 60 or 80 percent - of the cars on the road were operated by cautious, rational drivers who knew exactly where they were going and weren't distracted by anything else happening inside or outside the car? Wouldn't that make the roads safer?
We all like to think we're great drivers, but we aren't. We drive too fast, pushing the limits of safety to get to our destinations a minute or two sooner. We talk on the phone, argue with the person sitting next to us, try to quiet the baby in the car seat. We check the GPS because we don't know where we're going, and fiddle with the radio, trying to find the ballgame.
Young people drive recklessly because they think they're invincible. Old folks think their decades of experience makes them exceptional drivers. But the older we get, the harder it is to turn our heads to check the blind spots, the slower our reactions to unanticipated obstacles, the easier it is to get confused over where we're going.
But those of us who have tried to take the keys away from aging family members know how traumatic the loss of mobility can be for those who have always associated driving with freedom and independence. Social isolation is unhealthy and depressing for the homebound elderly, especially those living in places you need a car to reach.
When I get to be that age, I look forward to having my car drive me in safety and comfort to a restaurant with an early bird special and a favorite spot to watch the sunset.
"Driver, take me home," I'll tell my car, like an old-time millionaire addressing his chauffeur, "and take the scenic route."

-- Rick Holmes writes for GateHouse Media and the MetroWest Daily News. He can be reached at rholmes@wickedlocal.com. Like him on Facebook at Holmes & Co, and follow him @HolmesAndCo.