In a time when being "first" in Reno usually means topping the list of something bad, Reno residents are amused to see that Google has picked us for something good... we hope.
Google wants to install and test its self-driving cars in Reno, Vegas and throughout Nevada, possibly because most of Nevada is uninhabited, sage-brush-covered desert. Or perhaps it's our reputation. Robotic cars might help keep drunk drivers off the streets of Reno and Sin City, right?
Looks like it's the latter. Blogger Lewinski writes,
If you thought Paris Hilton and her ilk got stupid, falling-down hammered in Las Vegas before today's announcement, clear the decks if Google receives the permission it's seeking from local government. After a testing period, the self-guided vehicles would allow passengers to talk on the phone, text, tweet, and be carried to the inevitable Robo-Human Slave Conversion Camps in safety and--especially in Vegas--drunken comfort.
That's pretty funny, actually. But seriously, Google's robot cars can travel more than 1000 miles without the need for human intervention. Wow, that would sure make the incredibly boring, 8-hour road trip from Reno to Vegas for high school state championships cheap AND painless!
Not only would the cars increase driver convenience and safety, they'd help the environment too.
Google has no current plans to market the system, but engineers have said robot cars wouldn't be susceptible to drowsiness or driving under the influence, and that eventually they might allow for more cars on the road, because they can drive closer to other vehicles, and less fuel consumption, because their safety would allow them to be made lighter, with less defensive armor.
Uh-oh. Liberal government largesse alert! Robotic cars will save polar bears, refreeze the ice caps, and keep us from running into each other. They also might be the beginning of total government control.
Google wants to install and test its self-driving cars in Nevada with the hope of one day criss-crossing the nation's urban roadways with them. While the move could eventually help keep drunk drivers off the streets of Las Vegas, Reno, and Pahrump, it also means the Silver State could be the first to fall to our onrushing robot overlords.
Conspiracy theories aside, perhaps Google's interest is good news for Nevada. Shouldn't we be proud of being first in something good?
Self-driving cars would have an especially positive influence in Las Vegas, where the bad driving stew of weekend alcoholics, tourists, aging retirees, and foreign travelers having their first U.S. driving experience amid a sea of flashing neon makes The Entertainment Capital of the World one of the worst driving cities in America.
Google's feel-goodness has already worn off, darn it. We're at the top of the list in something bad, again.
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