by Pierre Du Plessis

Created on: July 12, 2008   Last Updated: July 13, 2008

We all know that humans strive to make faster, safer and more comfortable forms of transport. We have always done so. It is in our nature to do so. Since the invention of the wheel, people strove to make faster and easier forms of transport.

So, what does the future hold in store for us? Well, though I can not tell for sure, I can make some reasonable predictions. I can assure you, air speeders which fly through the air like in Star Wars are not on the list.

Anyway, I find it more likely that the people who create cars will try to make safer cars, though style will still play a large part. One thing that I can think of to improve the safety of the roads is that they introduce an "auto drive" system. This may sound strange, but I have reason to believe that it would be possible, at least on motorways. With a combination of highly accurate Satellite Navigation, laser, distance sensing devices and perhaps infrared, a machine could easily find out where it and other cars are on the road, and then it is only one short step to driving it. Of course, at first it would only be on motorways for VIPs with a manual override option built in. To introduce it on other roads, they would have to make every car have one, and they would have to synchronise the traffic lights with satellite signals. Then there is the problem of pedestrians. If a pedestrian falls on the road, an automated car might be able to detect him and stop using the infrared technology. But what if he wants to cross the road? The only solution that I can think of would be that everyone has a device on which they can press a button to register that they want to cross the road.

Car manufacturers will likely make new flashy' cars like the R8 and the TT and put their new cutting edge technology on those. Their new designs won't be very different to the old designs, apart from the new technologies and they may look even flashier. The new technology will then filter through to the other cars and will soon be compulsory for a good car. An example of this now is the new magnetic steering system. In a few years, most cars will have it. Another example is the SATNAV. Not many people used to have it, but now most people who drive a lot own one, even if they don't use it.

Bus drivers are not a very sought after job. The bus companies will be looking forward to automatic cars, so they can just have a machine to sell tickets and drive the bus.

Aeroplanes will probably change slowly, but when they do change, they will probably

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