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Today was a historic day in California. Governor Brown signed SB1298 into law, which will pave the way for “autonomous vehicles” to enter our roads. The law allows driverless cars to be operated on public roads for testing purposes and instructs the California DMV to adopt regulations that govern the licensing, bonding, testing and operation of autonomous vehicle technology no later than 2015.
The legally blind
The CDC reports that 3% of Americans 40-years and older are have a visual acuity of 20/40 or less. That’s 3.5 million Americans who cannot obtain a driver’s license or operative a vehicle. This number is projected to increase as our population gets older and the burden of diseases such as macular degeneration, diabetes, and glaucoma increase.
Let’s face the facts, this is not Europe. The majority of Americans rely on cars for transportation. So 3.5 million of us need to rely on others to get around, resulting in family members and friends taking time off from work and an overall loss of productivity.
The inability to drive also engenders the negative feelings that come with the loss of independence. I see this everyday in my clinic. Many of my patients have low vision and cannot drive. They always have a son, daughter, or grandchild bringing them to all of their doctors’ offices and many wish they could be driving themselves.
Will the Google driverless car help?
If these cars live up to all the hype, they may allow the blind and visually impaired to become more independent; allow them to “drive” themselves places and not have to rely on friends and family. If safely implemented, this car technology will be a great boon to our society and make people feel better about themselves as well… and depression is a real problem when visual impairment is involved.
Would you be excited about a self-driving car? Please leave a comment below.
(Note: I have no financial relationship to the technology or companies mentioned in this post.)