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Two Passengers Good, One Bad

What do you think of when you see a car with a driver and no passengers? On the roads Los Angeles sole occupancy is the norm - if you're in the high occupancy/two-passengers-or-more-lane you might feel a certain smugness but in a city like Kabul most local transport is filled to overflowing, a car containing only a driver tends to stands out. Whilst the risk of being hit by a car bomb or VBIED (Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device) in Kabul is relatively low it is a risk. A stolen car is cheap, martyrs slightly less so - and the security trained risk averse driver gives single occupancy cars a wider berth.

Older London based readers may remember the IRA mainland bombing campaigns in the eighties or maybe you live in a country where car bombs are a reality today. Something for tomorrow's vehicle-system designers to mull over as they conceptually ease themselves into the passenger seat of their self-driving consumer vehicles.

Writing from Tokyo | August 24, 2008 | Permalink