Jeremy Clarkson says a driverless car nearly killed him
Not once, but twice in the span of just 80km.
(Image source: CNN)
Driverless cars now have an unexpected opposition force in the form of Jeremy Clarkson, former presenter of British car show Top Gear and current host of the Amazon Prime exclusive The Grand Tour. He claims to have been nearly killed twice while testing a car with autonomous capabilities. In his Sunday Times column, he wrote:
"I drove a car the other day which has a claim of autonomous capability and twice in the space of 50 miles (~80km) on the M4 it made a mistake, a huge mistake, which could have resulted in death."
He also said that “We have to be very careful legally, so I’m not going to say which one.”
Autonomous vehicles are frequently making headlines, with big names in tech like Google and Apple, as well as car companies like BMW and Audi announcing their involvement in the field. No surprise then, that UK Chancellor Phillip Hammond is planning to allow self-driving cars to be tested on its roads. This is an industry that’s reportedly predicted to be worth £28 billion (S$50.3 billion) by 2035 and provide 27,000 jobs, according to The Independent. But for now, Jeremy Clarkson thinks that “For now, we’re miles away from it.”
That said, he’s not entirely against the idea, provided that it is able to pass a very specific test.
You drive one of your driverless cars over the Death Road on Bolivia and I’ll buy one. Sit there with your hands folded and let it drive you up there, then squeeze past a lorry with half the tire hanging over a 1,000ft (~305m) drop while the car drives itself. Fine, I’ll buy into it.
The Death Road in Bolivia refers to the Yungas Road, which is also known as the world’s most dangerous road, with 200 to 300 travelers killed yearly along it.
Source: The Independent
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