I'm looking forward to owning a self driving car someday.
That's great for you and me, especially if you're a lazy and inattentive driver.
I think it'd the only answer to distracted driving.
No, I couldn't disagree more....but maybe something as simple as paying attention when behind the wheel is. If you can't be bothered, take public transportation.
Everything you reference is a compensation for the inability of an adult human to pay attention while preforming relatively basic tasks. People make mistakes and accidents happen, but these things also happen when technology is left to run the show as well, tech is not a cure-all. Putting your fate in the hands of something created by humans isn't that far removed from directly interacting with humans.
Cars today are built with designed-in distractions and they also go to great lengths to isolate the driver from the sensations of driving. That's definitely part of the problem. If you want people to pay attention to driving, you don't fill the damn interior with light shows and entertainment systems in what amounts to a rolling "outside world" sensory deprivation chamber.
We sure as hell do not teach people how to operate motor vehicles. Training and licensing amounts to a joke. We teach people how to sit in a relatively comfy chair and play with a steering wheel and controls at certain times while "driving". No real understanding of what they are doing and why, and definitely no understanding of what the vehicle is doing and how to actually control the thing based on that understanding. Anyone here do skid pad, spin testing or ice driving for their license? Yeah, didn't think so.
With modern tech, you don't need too much of anything for ability. You can be as stupid as you like with most cars and the electronics will sort things out, most of the time. And when it doesn't, well, it will do its best to save your dumb ass from death with airbags, pyrotechnic belt tensioners, etc.
Check those blind spot before changing lanes? Why bother, the little sensor in the mirror will let me know, I'll just go (and without bothering to indicate, typically), Check those mirrors when backing up? Nah, I've got a backup camera (and I still can't fecking park it properly)...
The world is far too crowded to keep going with old school stuff
I agree with the first part and there are solutions to that, the second part makes no sense. Never bought into the "old stuff bad, new stuff good", mostly because it's complete horseshit, unless you cherry pick examples supporting either case. Good design and engineering is timeless, age has nothing to do with soundness.
No,
WE don't. Maybe
YOU do.
"Embrace the technology", you'll never be able to fight it.
"Embrace the British, you'll never be able to fight them" -some slacker colonist circa 1775
Fight it, I will. And I know I'm not alone.