Autonomous cars threaten “niche future” for motorsport

Di Grassi: Autonomous cars threaten “niche future” for motorsport



Di Grassi: Autonomous cars threaten ?niche future? for motorsport



“The threat we face in motorsport is autonomous vehicles,” said di Grassi. “In the future, people in general will lack the experience of normal driving on the road. So if you don’t drive, you won’t get the passion and feeling for motorsport.
“Motorsport will still exist, but because less people will drive I believe it will become a niche sport and not a mass sport – as I believe it was in the 1990s and 2000s.”

 

Yep... like horse racing fell into the wilderness when people started using automobiles instead of horses for transport.

 

Thanks Eddie Irvine wannabe

 

I think Di Grassi has got this totally wrong!

Most fans become addicted to motorsport years before they can drive, and for many, it's watching motorsport that actually gets them interested in driving, rather than driving that gets them interested in motorsport.

When autonomous cars become the norm on the roads and people are no longer allowed to drive themselves, then the only place you will still be able to drive a car yourself will be on race tracks/airfields/private land, so the interest in track driving could actually increase.

The biggest threat to motorsport isn't the autonomous car though - It's environmental legislation on greenhouse gas emissions.

Now before certain people use this theory to promote their idea of F1 cars becoming electric Formula E style cars, let Me point out that it will not be the race cars themselves that will be the at the root of restrictions on environmental grounds, it will be a ban on the transportation of race cars and all of the required personnel and equipment around the World to compete in competitions, regardless of their power supply.

We have all this talk of just how damaging cars and trucks are to the environment, and plenty of people demanding they become electric vehicles, but what about aeroplanes?, they too cause damage to the environment!

Sooner or later, the environmentalist's attention will be drawn to air travel, and to stopping people travelling by airliners for superfluous reasons - And let's not beat about the bush, motorsport is in reality, a superfluous activity.

Eventually, due to environmental legislations and restrictions, the only motorsport that will exist will be virtual racing, with drivers racing computer generated cars from the comfort of their own homes, and the kids who take part in it will never know what real motor racing really is!

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/self-driving-car-driver-died-205642937.html

 

Amazing it didn't see the trailer as it was painted white against a bright background! Hope the family of the guy sues the A$$ off Tesla (they can afford it !)

 

Today I heard that Tesla reveiled the first fatality using the auto-pilot. Aparently
a white truck was incoming and "Kidd", nor the driver, couldn't see it coming against
a bright background. If the auto-pilot is on, then we can assume that the was not
100% paying attention, right?

https://www.teslamotors.com/blog/tragic-loss

 

Well, anything can happen when there are lawyers involved, but I suppose that somewhere in the Tesla manual specifies that the driver must be aware of traffic conditions regardless of what the autopilot does.

 

Evidently they are supposed to keep both hands on the wheel at all times,just in case George
screws up...

 

Well, that's the point isn't it. I have seen articles that promote auto-drivers with words like, "No more accidents...ever." This auto driving meme is being sold on the notion that you can just sit there, text, talk, read a book and the infallible onboard systems will do a better job than a human could ever do.

 

Interesting that you mention air travel, because it sits like an elephant in the room: presently air travel is probably the biggest source of pollution !!!

But no government I know wants to tackle that problem; instead they legislate on road transport and tax their users to death!!

A lot of air transport is unnecessary in fact. With modern technology, people don't need to travel to participate in conferences, meetings, conventions, etc... No more than they need to travel to spectate at sport events, concerts, etc...

 

He was watching Harry Potter. But which one we may never know.

 

I don't know, but i think as we progress, technology wise we would be good, but for the human race, we will have more stupid people in the future. Even know, with the likes of Uber popping up, the teenagers these days have no interest to learn how to drive. They just use the uber app, and hail a car.

Back in my time, we could not wait to drive, could not wait to test the car's acceleration, top speed, heel to toe braking, etc. Now, it's a miracle if anyone can even drive a manual.

These auto pilots nonsense. It's good for technology, but it will result in more stupid people.

 

I don't think technology makes people more stupid; it just shift their interests somewhere else. The new generation has a different focus on life; their goals and aspirations are different. So I don't think we should judge them by our standards.
Also, it takes a lot of clever people to develop all that technology, I would have thought ...

 

do we really need all these aspiring f1 drivers anyway?

 

Exactly!

The motorist is slowly being forced to accept that they are going to have to change the power source for their daily transport in the interest of the environment, but the air transport industry have been pretty much left alone to carry on as per usual (Yes modern aircraft are a lot more efficient and less polluting than they were previously, but they are still serious polluters, and as yet, there are no demands for them to find alternative power sources).

How much longer can it be before the environmentalists turn their attention to the air industry and call for a ban on all non-essential air travel?

 

+1

 

I disagree. I never said the people who developed the technology are stupid. I said that people who relied too much on technology are getting more stupid. When was the last time you saw any young adult using a map? They probably can't even drive a stick, heck, most of them don't even know how to fill their tyres with air, and check their oil.

 

People who use new drivers' aids are not stupid, they are just adapting to time, and using what's available to then.

What's the big deal about checking oil yourself, or inflating your tyres?
Modern cars have tyre pressure warning and electric oil gauges!!
Having someone checking those for you makes one more stupid?

Why should a young driver learn to use a stick if he only buys automatics?
I don't see the problem with using GPS instead of maps either.

So, because my father used to repair his punctures himself, go under the car to change oil and filter and adjust his brakes (drums), he was more clever than me, and I am the stupid one?

Was my father more stupid than my grand father who used to decoke his engine, grind the valves and start his car with a crank-handle?

Do you see where this leads to ...

I had to do these things, but I am glad I don't have to now.

 

Judging by the way he drove today in formula e di grassi is himself the best possible ambassador for autonomous cars

 

The next future "niche" for racing might be F1 autonomous cars that we could label something like "The Race of the Robots."