Technology is already helping my road rage

I really enjoy driving, and I like going fast. It may seem like a bit of a contradiction, then, for me to say that I’m looking forward to the era of self-driving cars. Especially from the perspective of a cyclist, as the extent of peoples’ stupidity driving continually amazes me. Computers will absolutely do a better job at deciding what to do on the road.

This weekend I was afforded taste of the better life that technology will be bring to driving. We drive old jalopies, so we decided to rent a vehicle to drive to Michigan for a friend’s wedding this weekend. As usual, they hooked it up with the upgrade, so we were in the newest hybrid Ford Fusion. Apparently even pretty mainstream new cars these days are loaded with features.

One pleasant surprise was automatically adjusting cruise control. No matter where we are going, if there is a trip more than a couple of hours on the highway, at least a few times someone will switch lanes to get in front of me, then slow down. The part that angers me most is having to brake, consequentially disengaging the cruise control, and then once they are out of my way accelerating back to 15 over.

This time, for hundreds of miles I didn’t need to brake for an idiot even once. Our car senses a slower vehicle ahead, slows down, maintains a safe distance between cars, and then speeds back up to the cruise speed when it’s clear. I needed to take over a time or two to pass someone camping in the left lane, but for the majority of the trip I was letting things roll.

There was not a single moment of anger the entire trip… This is a true miracle!
How has new technology brought you serenity?