What’s it like to Ride in a Self-Driving Car? I’ll tell you.

Spoiler Alert. It’s pretty dang cool. The EZ-10 shuttle is a whisper soft, driver-less electric vehicle. The shuttle moves autonomously, and combines a hybrid of 3 different location technologies: GPS, video guide, and SLAM technology. And it’s easy to forget that you are even moving at all.

My driver-less car ride was smooth and steady!

The Alliance for Transportation Innovation, is bringing the 2017 autonomous vehicle cross country tour to cities all around the US! I got to ride it, on its Arlington Texas stop. It would appear that interest in driver-less technology is pretty high. For the few hours I was at the tour stop, the line to ride the EZ-10 shuttle was never ending. And everyone wanted a look inside!

Here is the video footage from my ride, as well as a short Q & A with the vehicle engineer – Vasileios Karavidas.

I get it. Driver-less cars sound scary. But I can honestly say, that after actually riding in one – I’m excited to see this technology get implemented all over the United States. After all – driver-less cars don’t get in accidents because they are tired, or were texting – or had too much to drink.

And – driver-less cars are fun! Imagine being able to get from point A, to point B all while reading your favorite book. Or sharing photos of your day with a friend. Checking on the kids, by texting the babysitter? Driver-less cars make that easy, and safe.

Wondering when you can to try out a Driver-less vehicle too?

The 2017 Autonomous Vehicle Cross Country Road Trip tour dates are:

• Atlanta, GA on January 26^th
• New Orleans, LA on January 30^th
• Arlington, TX, on February 2^nd
• Los Angeles, CA on February 6^th
• San Jose, CA on February 9^th

You can find out times and places for the public rides by going to http://www.avroadtrip.org/.

If you are anywhere near one of the stops on the tour, I highly recommend checking it out. It will take the scary right out of the phrase “driver-less cars.” And instead – you will be left excited for the future of autonomous vehicles! I know I was!

About Shannon Schmid

Shannon traded in her sensible NYC TV producer shoes (they were best for taking the subway), for a pair of Texas Cowboy boots when she married her best friend! He's at fault for making this Yankee a Texan! Shannon writes about all things that make a house a home. Her chief blogging inspiration is being the proud & slightly neurotic mom of a preschool age daughter.

You can find Shannon on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and her new favorite place to hang out, Google+.