My Prediction – Self-Driving Cars

By Richard Dowson Opinion/Commentary

In 1983 I was living and working in a small, rural Special Areas community 90 kilometers north of Brooks, Alberta and 90 kilometers south of Hanna. Both towns are tied together by Highway 36.

I lived in the Special Areas on and off over the years.

As a kid I’d worked on a ranch at nearby Finnegan. Years later I worked for the Department of Highways on the construction of Highway 36 from Emerson Bridge to the Pollockville corner. At that time, I lived in Pollockville.

Photo: The Prairie South of Cessford, Alberta on Secondary Highway 876

The Special Areas are mostly barren, bald prairie – a vastness and openness that is romantic to some and causes melancholia in others.

For me the prairie is romantic, except when driving.

Then the prairie becomes an endless, boring, monotonousexperience.

The long drive to either Brooks or Hanna was beyond boring.

Highway 36 is straight, except for one curve, driving south to Brooks. The more scenic drive north to Hanna has two curves and the odd clump of buck-brush.

After numerus drives to Brooks, I had a revelation – self-driving cars.

Remember; this was 1983 - long before smart-phones.

In fact, the year before our local ‘Mutual Barbed-wire Telephone Company’ was sold to Alberta Government Telephone, which later became Telus.

I shared my revelation with my Grade Twelve Social Studies class. “Someday.” I said, “Someone will invent a self-driving car. I’ll be the first to buy one. I’ll drive out to Highway 36, turn south and have the car drive me to Brooks. And while the self-driving car is taking me to town, I will read the newspaper!”

The class had a good laugh at that. “Yeh Mr. Dowson. And some day pigs will fly.”

My revelation has come true – well, almost. There are self-driving cars, but it is almost impossible to find a newspaper!

Writer Richard Dowson is a retired educator.

He is known for his frequenting local coffee shops and other places seniors gather.

In a previous life he wrote comedy for CHED in Edmonton.

His views may or may not reflect the views of this publication.