3 ms·

The Amish near where I live seem to get by with their horses and carts, but they aren't taking the Interstate.

smacktoward 8y ago
This would be an interesting premise for a sci-fi story: an Amish-like subculture in a far-future America, only their level of acceptable technology stopped at the early 21st century instead of the early 19th. So they drive everywhere in gas-powered cars when everyone else is teleporting, amuse themselves with movies recorded on disc when everyone else is immersed in holographic VR, talk to each other on cellphones when everyone else communicates telepathically via brain implants, etc.
hitpointdrew 8y ago
Yeah, in small isolated places I am sure it can work. But try taking a horse from Quincy, MA to Washing D.C. Like John Adams did many times. If self driving doesn't become "illegal" but regulated to small isolated areas (aka "tracks"), than you might as well just make it illegal. A lot of people who like driving won't be able to afford having a self driving car, and a manual driving car, a trailer so they can transport their manual driving car legally to the track. Not to mention, most tracks are boring, mostly flat, circles and not at all the same as driving on a mountainous road.
- icebraining 8y ago
  Why not? Alvin Straight went from Laurens, IA to Blue River, WI in a lawn mower: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Straight https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Straight
- romwell 8y ago
  >But try taking a horse from Quincy, MA to Washing D.C. Like John Adams did many times. I'd believe the impediment to that will be not the regulation, but lack of horse-support infrastructure along the way (inns with stables and feeding stations, blacksmiths who could reshoe your horse if needed, etc). I highly doubt that the number horse-accessible roads has declined since John Adams times. We really have built a lot more roads since then, even allocating a small percentage to horses would be way more than was available back than. TL;DR: John Adams didn't take the interstate either.
  - hitpointdrew 8y ago
    >I'd believe the impediment to that will be not the regulation, but lack of horse-support infrastructure along the way (inns with stables and feeding stations, blacksmiths who could reshoe your horse if needed, etc). You're not wrong about this. But even if there was horse-supporting infrastructure along the way, riding a horse from Quincy to D.C. would still be way harder today, if not impossible. Just due to riding on the roads with cars, and find routes that aren't the interstate, or some major road where horse riding isn't allowed.
HighPlainsDrftr 8y ago
I've long thought that all highways/interstates should have paved bike path and a dirt trail away from the road itself. This would give people the option of riding horses or bikes in a much safer manner.
- hitpointdrew 8y ago
  I like this idea.
- resoluteteeth 8y ago
  I think the biggest problem with this would be that you wouldn't want highway traffic crossing the bike/horse paths at grade, so I'm not sure that building bike/horse paths along (even if a bit away from) the highways would actually be efficient. It might be better to simply require that equivalent paths be built somehow.
  - jsymolon 8y ago
    > want highway traffic crossing the bike/horse paths at grade For the same sort of big vehicle vs small problems, look at all the problems with trains and car/truck crossings at grade. Spoiler, the train usually wins.

This would be an interesting premise for a sci-fi story: an Amish-like subculture in a far-future America, only their level of acceptable technology stopped at the early 21st century instead of the early 19th. So they drive everywhere in gas-powered cars when everyone else is teleporting, amuse themselves with movies recorded on disc when everyone else is immersed in holographic VR, talk to each other on cellphones when everyone else communicates telepathically via brain implants, etc.

hitpointdrew 8y ago

Yeah, in small isolated places I am sure it can work. But try taking a horse from Quincy, MA to Washing D.C. Like John Adams did many times. If self driving doesn't become "illegal" but regulated to small isolated areas (aka "tracks"), than you might as well just make it illegal. A lot of people who like driving won't be able to afford having a self driving car, and a manual driving car, a trailer so they can transport their manual driving car legally to the track. Not to mention, most tracks are boring, mostly flat, circles and not at all the same as driving on a mountainous road.

icebraining 8y ago
Why not? Alvin Straight went from Laurens, IA to Blue River, WI in a lawn mower: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Straight https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Straight
romwell 8y ago
>But try taking a horse from Quincy, MA to Washing D.C. Like John Adams did many times. I'd believe the impediment to that will be not the regulation, but lack of horse-support infrastructure along the way (inns with stables and feeding stations, blacksmiths who could reshoe your horse if needed, etc). I highly doubt that the number horse-accessible roads has declined since John Adams times. We really have built a lot more roads since then, even allocating a small percentage to horses would be way more than was available back than. TL;DR: John Adams didn't take the interstate either.
- hitpointdrew 8y ago
  >I'd believe the impediment to that will be not the regulation, but lack of horse-support infrastructure along the way (inns with stables and feeding stations, blacksmiths who could reshoe your horse if needed, etc). You're not wrong about this. But even if there was horse-supporting infrastructure along the way, riding a horse from Quincy to D.C. would still be way harder today, if not impossible. Just due to riding on the roads with cars, and find routes that aren't the interstate, or some major road where horse riding isn't allowed.

HighPlainsDrftr 8y ago

I've long thought that all highways/interstates should have paved bike path and a dirt trail away from the road itself. This would give people the option of riding horses or bikes in a much safer manner.

hitpointdrew 8y ago
I like this idea.
resoluteteeth 8y ago
I think the biggest problem with this would be that you wouldn't want highway traffic crossing the bike/horse paths at grade, so I'm not sure that building bike/horse paths along (even if a bit away from) the highways would actually be efficient. It might be better to simply require that equivalent paths be built somehow.
- jsymolon 8y ago
  > want highway traffic crossing the bike/horse paths at grade For the same sort of big vehicle vs small problems, look at all the problems with trains and car/truck crossings at grade. Spoiler, the train usually wins.