Autonomous Cars Shouldn't Require a Driver's License

Seventeen years ago, I wrote a blog entitled "Grandma and Grandpa's Freedom Machine." I was 66 years old then and first began thinking of myself as a "senior citizen" aka "old guy." The gist of this article was inspired by my late "Uncle Charlie," who refused to give up his old Cadillac. He'd retired from operating his gas station in West Palm Beach, and his 20-year-old Cadillac sat in his driveway for 10 years after he could no longer drive it. He and Aunt Marion could see it from their living room rocking chairs, sitting on its flat tires. It made Uncle Charlie happy to think about driving it in past years on Sundays to "visit" friends and family, including my mother, father, sister, and me. They'd go to church first, all dressed up (Uncle Charlie always wore a Fedora hat).

As a car dealer, I sometimes must talk to my elder customers' children who intervene when their parents want to buy another car or drive it in for service. This is one of the most difficult times for a family to face. One could say, "One of the happiest moments in my life was when I got my driver's license and first car; one of the saddest was when they took them away from me."

This year U.S. Representatives Brian Mast from Florida and Greg Stanton from Arizona introduced a bipartisan Autonomous Vehicle Accessibility Act to help people with disabilities better access the mobility and independence benefits of autonomous vehicles. The elderly, of course, represent a high percentage of those with disabilities because this is part of aging.

We seniors think a lot about losing our driver's licenses when our sight, hearing, and other senses begin to fail us. Contemplating taking written tests and driving tests is scary. What if we don't pass? Doctors tell us that many of their elderly patients don't have current drivers' licenses. They continue to drive with expired licenses because they're afraid to take the driving tests. This is not just dangerous for them, but for everybody else on the road.

Call me a "cockeyed optimist," but I believe if we seniors can hang on a little while longer, we'll never have to give up our "freedom machines." We can buy an autonomous vehicle or buy a timeshare in one. We'll be able to summon our vehicle to pick us up in front of our residence and tell it to take us to Walgreens or Taco Bell. The big bonus to "time share" is we pay only for the time we use the vehicle. Today, our vehicle sits in the garage or out front of our homes 80% of the time... but we still must pay for all that idle time.

The Most Important Part of Your Car For Maintenance, Expense & Safety

Automotive technology has been advancing at warp speed for the past 20 years. Today’s new automobile is far superior in safety, comfort, ease of operation, maintenance, mechanical repair cost, and longevity. It seems like yesterday that we were all driving combustion engine cars that got 12 mpg and were well worn out at 50,000 to 100,000 miles. By today’s standards, they were “death traps” in an auto accident. Today, we’ve evolved to hybrid cars and are on the way to all-electric. Maintenance is almost non-existent, and we’re not that far away from fully autonomous cars.

Sadly, our cars’ tires got stuck in a time warp about twenty years ago and are pretty much the same tires you’ve always had on your car…just a lot more expensive. I’m not sure why this is because there’s nothing more dangerous than a tire blowing out at high speed, and there’s no other part of a car that has to be regularly replaced, repaired, and maintained like tires.

We used to have to have our oil changed, transmission-radiator-battery fluid levels checked and replaced regularly…no more. Now you can change your oil just once a year. The only good thing about all the other necessary maintenance back in the day was that your tires could also be checked, but checking your tires only once a year is very dangerous and can be very expensive.

Here are a few guidelines to keep you safe and save you money with your tires:

• Inspect your tires at least monthly for inflation psi and uneven wear or road hazard debris like screws and nails.

• Inflate your tires higher than the auto manufacturer’s recommendation but below the tire manufacturer’s recommendation (smoothest ride). The car manufacturer has the psi on the door jamb and/or owner’s manual, and the tire manufacturer has it stamped on the sidewall (maximum inflation) of your tire.

• Have your tires rotated and balanced based on the manufacturer’s recommendation or anytime you experience a vibration or pull while driving.

• Have all four wheels alignment checked whenever you have them otherwise checked. Almost all service departments will check your alignment free and provide you with a computer printout of the results.

• Also, have your alignment checked whenever you notice a pull on your steering wheel, to the left or right.

• Buy the best tire for your driving and environment based on Consumer Reports testing reports (See the February issue of CR or go online to www.CR.org). Do not buy tires because of the brand name. Some well-known tires are very good, but some aren’t. You’ll be surprised to find the best tires recommended by Consumer Reports are brands you haven’t heard about.

• Finally, shop the price when buying tires and not what Consumer Reports says is fair. Be careful when buying tires to get the full price including mounting and balancing and “junk fees”. If you’re near a Costco warehouse, there’s no better place to buy new tires. Do not waste money adding “nitrogen” to our tires, but Costco inflates them with nitrogen at no charge. I think that this is because so many people are fooled into believing nitrogen is good to have in tires. It’s not unless you’re a NASCAR driver or an airline pilot.