RyansWorld: Driverless car

'''Special Note: Please note that this scenario is meant to be read as entertainment, not as an accurate prediction of the future. Also note that the viewpoints and opinions that may come across in this scenario are not necessarily the viewpoints and opinions of the author.'''

Driverless cars will be available by the year 2015; but only become affordable to the middle class in the year 2020. Driverless cars will make up almost half the road population by 2050 and will make up almost 90% of the road population by 2100.

A massive recall on all driverless vehicles started on January 19, 2038 but the crisis was solved before Christmas of that year. Semi-autonomous and conventional vehicles built between 1990 and 2005 will be able to operate on the roads of North America, Europe, Japan, China, Hong Kong and various underdeveloped countries before the United Nations forces people to give up conventional and semi-autonomous vehicles on July 5, 2035 in favor of driverless vehicles.

Summary
They will require the user to input the name of the destination or the complete address of the location that they want to go and the car's artificial intelligence takes them there automatically without a driver needing to be present. They will run completely on solar power in the daytime and use hydroelectric energy as a complementary source of energy during cloudy periods and nightfall. Toyota, BMW and Honda will share the joint monopoly on the driverless car business and will have the most affordable driverless cars. Fossil fuels will be completely incompatible with these cars and all forms of diesel will also not be compatible with the driverless car.

By the late 2040s, it will be illegal to manufacture vehicles that run on fossil fuels in Europe, China, North America, and Brazil. While the Year 2038 Bug made it difficult for the nations of the world to give up fossil fuels and conventional vehicles, government stimulus money to research companies allowed ways for vehicles, fuel companies and driverless vehicles to circumvent the "Year 2038 Problem."

Driverless cars will not require a driver's license of any grade to operate; except for people who used to be autistic and/or mentally disabled. Even people with autism or mental disability could be able to operate the self-driving vehicle if they have the cognitive ability and computer/technology skills to navigate. Anyone with basic literacy and computer skills who are at least 16 years of age will be legally allowed operate the vehicle with absolutely no restrictions. People age 13-16 will be able to operate their vehicles with limitations designated by parents/guardians and teachers. This would give the adolescent user permission to operate the driverless cars on major highways as well as secondary roads without needing a separate classification. In addition to this, car insurance will become obsolete because there will be almost no more automobile accidents after the year 2060. This is because the driverless car will have all safety methods in place by the car's artificial intelligence to prevent automobile accidents. Automobile accidents will likely be caused by a computer glitch or error than by human causes.

Drunk people will be able to use their own automobiles to return home because they are not "driving" the vehicle. The need for "designated drivers" and taxis/buses will decline along with being an advantage for bars because the legal drinking limit will only be in effect for manual drivers.

Effect on NASCAR
Stock cars that are used in NASCAR and dragsters in the NHRA will always be dependent on a driver's manual control, as it is considered a sport, not a "testing ground" for new automobile types.

Autonomous vehicle are never used in the Daytona 500, the Daytona 700 or with the generation of plasma-powered hovercar racing generation of the 22nd century.