The sad reality is that eventually the nanny state will presume that its safer for a computer to drive and people will fairly quickly take the lazy way out and let the car do the driving. I will personally become a shut in and never leave my house before i let the car drive. I LOVE driving... But many do not and view it as a chore. They will call it progress and bang the aforementioned safety drum. They will win, sadly.
I couldn't possibly agree on anything more. I've often considered writing a book about what constitutes a good driver.
Getting into the driver's seat carries with it a huge responsibility. In your hands you hold a tool capable of wiping out a bus load of people yet driving a vehicle is seen as just another everyday chore as you rightly stated.
Being a lazy or complacent driver is every bit as dangerous as someone speeding if not more so in my opinion. Driving exams are a joke. They pass people in NY without even testing their parking skills, I know because when I had to hand in my international license and get a NY one my test didn't last five minutes and not a single parking test. Total joke.
Sorry if this is a little off the VW topic Simon, but I can't resist listing some pet peeves here:
1) If you're not paying attention to what is going on around you, it doesn't matter how slow you are going - you are a hazard!
2)If you camp in the passing lane it's because you don't want to deal with other traffic and relax - a car is not a damn Lay-Z-Boy. If you want to relax, stop at a rest stop until you're ready to sit up and pay attention. Lazy driving makes you a hazard!
3) If you can't parallel park you have no business driving. It's one of the simplest maneuvers to master. You're a hazard!
4) The world does not revolve around you, you share the road so quit thinking laws don't apply to you. You're not special, you're a hazard!
5) If you tailgate you're a moron who should be dragged out of your car, the keys thrown away and be banned from ever getting behind a steering wheel again.
6) When you're driving below the speed limit and a car is passing you, don't suddenly accelerate because its presence in your peripheral vision woke you from your dangerous slumber and feel compelled to race over the speed limit to prove you weren't asleep.
7)If you are in a big truck or a semi when you cut me off with my family or friends in the car I will assume you are drunk and report you for it. I've done it twice and will continue to do so.
8) Even if you are a cop texting while you drive I will pull up next to you and have a word with you. You are a threat to mine and the lives of others.
In a nutshell if you drive recklessly I will treat you the same way I treat a reckless gun owner because your are both hazards! At least if a gun owner has an AD he'll kill a max of two people. You handle a car recklessly and you could wipe out a bus load of kids.
Rant over. Thank you for your patience!