The concept of a flying car that Hyundai is developing with Uber, was introduced at CES 2020 in Las Vegas, this month. This raises the question about the future of transportation.
At a time when American communities need transportation funding to fix crumbling roads, due to exposure to snow, ice, salt, extreme heat, etc., the idea of flying cars seems enticing. Flying cars would reduce the load on roads, saving taxpayer funds.
However, flying cars can add to existing problems. Drunk driving is widespread in the United States, and could be more dangerous if it involved flying cars. While managing surface traffic is difficult, the thought of cars flying and causing collisions is scary. Residential and commercial structures too will be at risk of damage as a result of collision if people operate flying cars. The government would need to create laws, rules and standards for the new form of traffic and enforce penalties for violations. It is an uncharted territory.
Given the rate of technological advancement, the use of flying cars is a question of “when”, not “if”. One question remains – what new challenges will flying cars create?