It's Night Side with Dan Ray. I'm telling you easy Boston News Radio.
First of all, I want to thank everyone again who took the time last hour to talk about the Patriots. I know we're not a sports show, but I do like to work in different topics every once in a while and got a little bit of a different topic to talk about tonight. In the ten o'clock hour we're going to right now, I want to talk about self driving cars. I recently had a ride in a self
driving car on the streets of San Francisco. I can get into that a little bit later on during this hour, because I want to start off with Mark shield drop of Triple A. Mark, welcome back to Night's Side. We normally hit you in the eight o'clock hour. Thanks for being available here at ten. How are you tonight.
It's all good and it's great to be back.
Thanks for having me Dan.
So, what is the position if there is of a triple A on this development? Have you ever had the opportunity to take a ride in a autonomous vehicle? No?
I haven't personally, so I'm one of those folks is a little anxious about it, you know, even though the numbers tell me that generally speaking, the robo taxis or the self driving cards you can ride in today are pretty safe.
Still, there is.
Something unnerving about not having anybody behind the wheel.
Yeah, there's a company which I believe is owned by Google. It's called Waymou and in a bunch of cities Phoenix, La San Francisco, and I think soon Miami and Atlanta, and maybe there's a couple more here. You instead of calling an uber, you call waymo and go from point A to point B. You sit in the back seat. There's nobody up front, there's nobody behind the wheel, and there's nobody in the front passager seat and it's all done remotely. Has has Triple A looked at this or
is it so small a fleet of cars? Although the fleet is growing in all of those three cities as I understand it, that Triple A has has yet to take a formal position on if this is a good idea.
Yeah.
So we've been following this for a while, and you know, we have a pretty open mind about it, and we think that there's some value to research and development of these technologies because we think it'll bleed into the everyday cars we drive and we're already seeing improvements in safety and driver assistance systems and cars today, and I think some of that is because of some of the research
down this. We think that self driving vehicles, with the right regulations and the right planning and the right investment in infrastructure, could be an interesting option to get people transported to places safely. But you know, there's a balancing act.
Yeah, I don't think we're close to cars being sold. That was one of the questions I had today that we had to work through. The best that I have seen is that maybe fifteen years out, the estimates are that maybe people would be able to purchase those cars. All of us know. I guess that you can in most new cars, or certainly cars that are even of
recent vintage. When you're out on a highway, you can set the car at a controlled speed, say sixty or sixty five, and the car will not go any faster, it won't go any slower unless you apply the brakes. So that technology has been around for a long time, and I don't know how many people take advantage of that. But you got to pay attention. You got to have your hand on the wheel, you got to make sure
the car doesn't drift. So it's one element of self driving is that as you understand that, I want to make sure I'm not saying something that is technically incorrect.
Yeah, listeners, you know, without getting into the weeds. There's different levels of automation. You know that even the Tesla, the autopilot or there their fully self driving mode that they call it is only level two and it.
Goes all the way up to five.
Five is no human intervention at all whatsoever. Those way moos you ride around in are are fully self fully automated. But there is somebody, you know, in a on a console somewhere who can intervene if need be, because there's still you know, chances for them to get stuck or get into a predicament.
On the roadway.
Uh, and so they have to be kind of manually resolved.
So yeah, but they don't whoever's on that console doesn't have the opportunity if if somebody, let us say, leaps, is doing something and wants to hurt themselves, they want to leap in front of the weymol you're driving. It's conceived and I believe I believe that there have been some accidents, Okay, and yeah, it may not be the fault of the weymold, but somebody turns the wrong way and hits the way mop I would probably think it's more likely the driver of the other car that has
a faulved having driven in one. Oh.
Absolutely, it was really cool.
There are crashes involving these vehicles, but the funny thing is it's usually humans crashing into them, so they generally have a pretty good record as far as causing collisions. But you're right, you know, it's it's one of those things where when you're mixing the automated vehicles on the public roads with human drivers, that's where the real challenge lies. Because these the technology is interesting and all, but they really have to be on areas that they know they
operate well. So you can just set them loose in downtown Boston, for example. That's not going to work anytime soon. And that's the real engineering and technology challenge. How are they going to get to that level? And we're still quite a few years away from that happening.
Yeah, and has you know Triple A. Obviously I understand what Triple A is as an organization. You have not taken a position. I assume that that Triple a is not likely to take a position at any point, and you're just going to allow the industry to proceed with caution. I'm assuming correct.
Yeah, you know, we think that there should be safety assessments. We think that any pilot or testing should be done really thoughtfully. We should. Consumer education is really important so people know what's happening and why these vehicles are showing up on the roadway. And there's also concern about generating personal data and privacy and cybersecurity issues, so we want to make sure that there's legislation to make sure that's
all transparent. Because these are vehicles packed with technology, they can gather data, whether it's people in the vehicles or you know, the world around them as they're driving. So that's important too.
So amplify on that for me a little bit. You probably are more hip to that. What what sort of I mean if I'm personally calling a weaymo, what's the difference between me calling a weymo and me calling an uber or a cab in terms of surrendering personal information?
Well, you know, I think more about these vehicles out on our roadways. You know, that's a really good question. That's that's an area I probably should think about more myself. You know, I'm looking at you know, what our policy stances are, and I think it's it's pretty broad to say,
you know, privacy and cybersecurity issues. But when we have people engaging in a testing program on our public roads and in cooperation with the municipality or city, you know, we want everything to be fully about board and transparent. Similar to any sort of automated enforcement, for example on our highways with camera systems, are tolling and that sort of thing. We don't want to just sign a blank check to a private organization and let them test these things out.
Well.
We want to know, you know, what data are they collecting when they're out there doing this stuff and report back so we have a fair and you know, open process there.
Okay, let me ask you one other questions, and that is that I know that these again, I think it's technically called WAIMO. These vehicles are way called waimo, owned by Google operating at this point, I know in Phoenix, LA and San Francisco, and they're pretty common. I think they're up to about three hundred vehicles at any given time that are on the streets of San Francisco. This is not like five or six, this is a fleet at this point. Do you know off hand? Then I
keep telling people we don't. We don't go over the questions in advanced markets. What comes into my mind? And if I ask you a question and it's way out of out of your your area of expertise, do you know anything about whether or not this type of autonomous vehicles are being you are a further down the line of being adopted or accepted in other countries, or are we leading the way? Do you think?
Yeah?
They are.
They are all over the world. I don't have like a list in front of me, and I'm not really sure that's a good question.
Are we leading the world?
We do have some like you mentioned Google, and there's been a lot of startups in the United States really trying to take the lead on that. One of Nvidia, which is a company a lot of folks might be thinking about these days because of you know, the stock market.
Unfortunately.
Yeah, yeah, I know.
But they're they're hardware, they're they're GPUs, their chips are are really vital for these systems because a lot of these cars that are driving in the trunk is a ton of computer hardware processing everything that's coming into the sensors in real time. So Americans are really in this certainly, and Las Vegas is another city where they're really pretty common.
So it's interesting about our survey. You know, even though six and ten people say they're afraid of them never get into them, that number starts to change when people are exposed to them and see them. So if you go to Las Vegas, you're a good example, you wrote in one and I'm really interested after we talk to hear about your experience and whether you feel more comfortable with the idea in the future, because I think once people are exposed to it, they kind of realize like, okay,
this is not bad. In controlled environments where they're geo fenced, as in, you know, they've mapped this area, they know these roads are going to work. It's you can't go outside of a certain boundary, you can't get in that way MAW and then going across country road trip, that's where these systems are really working. The big question is, you know, when do we take the leash off? You know, and so that is so long ways away, but exposure
to these things is certainly warming people to them. In general. So it's it's certainly interesting, but we're were behind where the projections were. As you mentioned, like in the early two thousands, the car companies were saying, you know, by twenty fifteen, you know, we'll have full self driving anywhere you want. Still seems to be that that carrot we just can't catch up to quite yet.
Yeah.
Interesting, It just it just is.
That's that's a perfect metaphor. We're chasing the carrot, and it looks as if the carrots getting away from We thought we were closer five years ago, Mark, I appreciate very much. And there is this survey that Triple A did that found Americans are still afraid of self driving vehicles, and this came out just a couple of days ago, February twenty fifth, twenty twenty five, two days ago. Actually, we've grown slightly less wary of self driving vehicles over
the past year. Just thirteen percent of US drivers indicate that feel safe riding in a self driving or autonomous vehicle and AV That is up from last year, when only nine percent of drivers said that they felt they'd be comfortable. Despite the slight increase, six and ten drivers still report being afraid to get into a vehicle that drives itself. I had no hesitation. I was with my daughter and son in law and it was it was fun. I mean I was, I was. I was having a ball in it.
Uh.
And I'm not somebody who adjusts easily, anyone who knows me to change. I tend to be a little cautious when when you're doing something differently. But my daughter said, don't worry here it is right here, jump in and okay, you know, I kept saying, energy, I can't see the driver, Katie, where where's the driver? Playing the role of the dumb dad, which my kids will come.
That's funny because our survey, our survey found that people are more inclined to do it if they know someone who's ridden one before, or a family member or somebody.
The numbers jump up.
So you're you're right into that where you know, you had your kids saying, oh, it's fine, we see them all. You know, it's this is a thing around here, and so you got that initial editation and it is a who I've seen videos of people riding them up and down the Las Vegas Strip and it's it's like another feature or another you know, amenity on your your vacation.
It's it's like.
Question, it's another Vegas attraction that in the Elvis Wedding Chapel.
Yeah, whether I see people commuting to downtown in these anytime, So that's a big question Mark. But you know, talking to you now, I'm more inclined to maybe get into one someday.
So yeah, I think you're Hey, Mark, I appreciate it so much. Thank you, very very much. Okay, we'll talk soon.
My pleasure.
Dan, great to chat.
Thanks, Thanks Mark. Okay, we're going to take a break. I'd love to know any of you if you've been in any of the cities where these are available. I just think that this is an interesting topic, something we haven't done in our in our seventeen and and a half years of Night Side, so we're always trying to find different areas. And what I've learned is that there's a lot of people in my audience who have different levels of expertise. Let me take a quick break here.
The number six, one, seven, two, five, four, ten thirty, six one seven, nine, three one ten thirty or triple eight nine two, nine, ten thirty, all of those will get you in. We're talking about self driving auto autonomous? Is that the way I had the pronunciation down early? Autononymous vehicles? Self driving vehicles? Have you experienced it? Would you trust? Uh? Sitting in the backseat while the car
drives itself? You just basically tell just like Uber. In Uber, you tell the driver, you know, pick me up here, I want to get here. Uh. This is the same, except it's it's even easier. Back on Nightside after this.
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World night Side Studios, WBZ News Radio.
Okay, let's see what people have to say. I'm gonna go first off to Joe and Revere. Joe, appreciate your calling. India. If you had any experience with a self driving vehicle or an autononymous.
Vehicle, Dan, I wish I could say, yeah, obviously you have, but I haven't. I do sell cause and I tell CAUs with what they call super cruise. You probably saw the commercial on TV to going over a bridge and a GMC clapping their hands to clean doing sixty miles an hour. I'm sorry, but I'm sixty years old.
Dan.
I don't believe in this concept of you not driving your vehicle being in control of it, and like, why you have to do that, like if you're driving somewhere, drop your kids at school, go to work, and be in control of your vehicle yourself. I just I'm sorry. Maybe you get it so you know more about it than me, but I'm just.
Look, I experienced it. I mean, I was in San Francisco and they're very common in San Francisco. You could identify them because on the roof of the car they had these little devices. It almost looks like, you know, a light, but it's not. I think it basically is making sure there's nothing around them or they're getting they're not getting too close. But hey, it's different strokes for different folks. I guess, is what I'm what I'm trying to say, and it's it's interesting. I learned a lot
about them today. We were talking Marita and II, the producer, were talking estually. I said, well, we haven't done this, and let's give it a shot. Let's see what happens. They started they're using they started using them in Phoenix, Arizona, which is if you've ever been to Phoenix, it's a city that's really laid out with streets going you know, horizontally and perpendicularly it's it's a well laid out city,
unlike Boston. They launched there in twenty twenty and they basically have a ninety square mile area in Metro Phoenix where they work. San Francisco started in just last August, but they have they have a lot of these cars now in San Francisco, these Waymo car Waymo cars, La a little bit of again ninety square miles, including downtown. And they're going to be in Austin, Texas next sometime this year, Atlanta, Georgia, uh, Miami next year, Miami, Florida
next year. And they're also testing I guess Las Vegas and San Diego. So they're coming. They're not They're not going to get here as quickly as people thought they were going to get here. But it it was. It had a very safe feel. I mean, to be honest with you. You know, you get in a cab with it, you get in a car with an Uber driver, you get into a cab. Sometimes I've been more nervous with cab drivers or drivers than I was in this way Moat to be I'm serious.
I drove a cap for twelve years. Yeah, I mean, but honestly, I'm surprised, but I haven't done it, and you have. You're a man of the world, so you've experienced it. To me, personally, I'm totally against anybody but a person driving the vehicle, having their foot on the break in the gas and being able to break when they want to. At some point, AI can mess up. Everybody knows that. You could type in dagas set it,
but I personally am not comfortable or safe. I don't even like the super cruise where you're not driving the car, somebody at the carriage.
I don't know. I have Joe, I have a twenty thirteen Vovo, and I know that I have that.
On my page seventy dollars that size.
Dan a little more eighty eight dollars, okay, which is one of the reasons I keep the Voval uh no but uh and Vovals Vovo.
When this car was manufactured, Vovals were great cars. I don't believe that Vovos are anything close to what they use. The different company owns them and all of that. We'll leave that for another time. But I've never used the cruise control on my car.
Yeah, I don't interest them.
I have no interest either because I want to be able to because there's I'm one of these drivers. I'm always assuming that the person in front of me is going to do something stupid. I saw a video someone sent me yesterday and these two guys.
That's why I'm surprised when you said you did one and you're you're kind of confident because you don't seem to me like the type of guy that would be for that stuff. But you're all in the world, buddy, so you've done it to experience it.
H Joe. I'll take that as a compliment. Thanks my friend, Thanks for calling. Thanks Thanks Joe, talk soon, good night. I got some wide open lines. We're going to talk to Susan in Belmont next and I have lines open at six one seven, two, five, four, ten thirty and I have one line at six one seven, nine three
one ten thirty. If you have been in a way Moo or one of these self driving cars, I think that's I believe that when they start in Atlanta, there's going to be public access via an Uber app, and also when they start in Austin, Texas. But for now, I believe all the cars are owned by Google and the app is called Weaimo, Waymo for these autonomous vehicles six one, seven, two, five, four ten thirty or six one seven, nine three one ten thirty. Coming right back
on nights Side. We're doing a couple of different topics tonight, and I hope that if you're listening, you're willing to experiment a lot of my call. My regular callers call and they want to talk politics, the same issues, and we'll do that, you know that. But I like to try to mix in something different every once in a while, just a little spice of life. Coming back on Nightside.
You're on Nightside with Dan Ray on w BEAZ, Boston's news radio.
Okay, let's go to Susan in Belmont, Susan. You were next on Nightside. I appreciate you taking the time to call in. Welcome. How are you tonight?
Fine?
Thank you. I love your show. I listened to it all the time. I called once a couple of years ago, but I listened all the time.
Thank you. Nice to have you back.
Yeah, I think this subject is very interesting. I have a granddaughter who goes to school in Arizona and the Phoenix area, and I said to her one day, I want to give you a gift card for Uber a lift. Which one do you use? And she said, oh, Graham, I we use Waimo And I said, oh, that would make me nervous, you know, with no driver. And she said, oh, we feel so safe. We always use way more because if we're driving coming home from a job or a party and or by ourselves, we feel much safer that
there was. We're not riding with some strange guy. So I thought that was an interesting take on it.
I think it's a great take when you think about it. I mean absolutely, there was a story this week about against you know, someone else who you know, you know, took advantage of some woman who who maybe had had some drinks and was unconscious and all of that. You know, it's just as yeah, horrible, horrible, what can happen? And when I was in how long has your daughter been been using this service in Arizona for a while?
This is this is her second year in college.
Great, okay, you're going to Arizona State University.
Yes, yeah, yeah, that's great school.
It's a really good school.
By the way, journalistic program.
Yeah, she'll probably take my job someday, but oh, okay, that's okay. No, as U is a great school. They get as they are in the top ten. And I happen to know this. Of National Merit Scholarship finalists, there's only about fifteen thousand students who qualify as National Merit Scholarship finalists. And they along with you know, you expect Yale and Harvard and Princeton, but University of Arizona and the University of Oklahoma, they go out and they really
induce kids to come out there. I'll bet you she's got a pretty a pretty good deal out there to go to school from all the way from Massachusetts. They look for they look for smart kids. So she's gonna do just great. And she's pretty smart to be thinking about this as well. Would you if they came to Boston, would you try it?
You know?
Or would you would you never try that yourself?
Oh, I think I would try it. I saw them out in San Francisco, you know, driving by, and I thought, oh, I don't know if I would, but they were there were a lot of them out there. I think I would try it. I'm not sure I would feel so safe, but I guess it's I can understand from a college girls point of view, how they particularly.
At night, particularly at night you're in the car, absolutely and you you know you're going to get to your location. But I got to tell you, I had no apprehension. You know, got in, and it's pretty weird because you look at the front seat and you realize no one's there. And there's a little statement that tells you, Okay, buckle your seat belts. Everybody buckles the seat belt. If you don't buckle the seat belt, then the Waymo's not going
to take you anywhere. And then slowly but surely, you know, you could tell that it didn't look. The car doesn't look, but it waited for traffic to go by, and then slowly but surely it came out of the parking space and moved along the floor of traffic and it took very easy turns. There was no speed around the corner, and it was it was fine. I actually enjoyed it.
And I'm a very distinctive looking car coming down the street too, with that thing on the top of it.
Whatever. Ye with all the mechanics, the the the electronics and the technology. Yeah, anyway, I enjoyed it. I would recommend the next time you're out in one of those cities, give it a shot.
Okay, when I go to visit her in Phoenix, I'll give it a shot.
Do me a favorite, tell her that we wish you the best of Locke and uh, I'm sure someday she will do you proud as a as a journalist. Your granddaughter, Susan, thanks so much. You don't wait. Don't waits.
Tried to call a couple of times. But if your line is always busy, well that's a good thing.
But we'll try to get make sure we get you through. Okay, this is a good line.
Thanks so much. A great, great show, the one you called here.
This is the easier line to get through one. Believe it a lot. Everybody has his condition to do. Six one, seven, two, five, four, ten thirty. This one, the six one, seven, nine three one ten thirty.
Well, when you started this one on nine three one, it was the ladies. Yes, we started that one.
We did. Yeah. Well, I like my lady callers, Okay, I mean I like the guy callers. Don't get me wrong, but someone once told me that when I started this, that talk radio was the bastion of angry men. And I want angry men. I want happy men. I want angry women, happy women. Every everything.
Well, you're doing great job. Thanks a lot, Thank you.
Susan, appreciate your time and thanks for calling. Good night. Six one, seven, two, five, four, ten thirty six one seven, nine three one ten thirty. Let me go to John in Boston. See what John thinks? Hey John next on night Side.
Yeah, I just have a basic question.
I'm one.
You know self driving cars are here and you lost your license, that you have no license. What's going to happen with that? Well, much say you can go out and buy a self driving car.
Well, I don't think we're going to the research that I've done, and I've done some research on this today. They're not going to be selling these cars probably until twenty forty, so you've got to look ahead about fifteen years. The self driving way, MOO vehicles, the autonomous vehicles. You don't need a driver's license to get into one of those because you don't touch you don't touch the steering wheel.
So this is a great car for if let's say you know, you're out late at night and you've had a couple of drinks and you don't want to drive home, and this is like an uber but without the driver, and it's and they're in a bunch of cities now. As I said, Phoenix, l A, San Francisco. I experienced it in in San Francisco and it was very cool. I mean, I think I know you well enough to John that that that you would enjoy it. You call you know.
Often, Well, I might enjoy it, But I'm just wondering what's gonna happen when that time comes about having a driver's license or no driver's license or What's what.
You're saying is, yeah, well, well I don't if you're gonna buy a vehicle and you're gonna assuming that the vehicle is a totally autonomous vehicle, it's it probably won't arrive as a totally autonomous vehicle. These cars are totally autonomous. There's no driver, No one's the only it's it's all done electronically.
Uh.
There's a steering wheel. It looks like you were sitting in the backseat of a normal car, and the steering wheel turns, and the car goes in the direction of the steer. The steering wheel turns and and then it moves into traffic and it makes a left hand turn, it makes a right hand turn. It's it's it's as if it's a ghost driving would be the best way to describe it.
Okay, well, that's gonna be a real wake up, a freak out with somebody and like a McDonald's drive up or breaking drive up and the car pulls up and the knowing this seat exactly.
And again I suspect and I don't know the answer to this that if somebody was a wise guy and said I'm going to try to climb up onto the front seat, I'll bet you that would disable the car because they there's no way that they're going to let somebody who's you know, half in the bag jump up
and take control of the car. It's it's run again by computers and by somebody probably who's like the equivalent of an air traffic controller, who's who's following where the car's going and making sure that it's going from point A to point B. But in terms of could you buy one if you, uh, let's say, had the misfortune of having lost your driver's license. It would also be good if somebody had enough money. And let's say the
kids took the keys away. Let's assume they you know, the kids said to mom or dad when when they got a little on in years. Look, we don't want you to have an accident. And that causes a lot of aggravation within families right now, you know, because dad and mom want to keep driving and the kids are concerned about their safety. So if it was fifteen years fast forward, they could say, look, we're gonna, you know, take your car, We're going to trade it in and
we're going to get you a Weymo. So they could I assume, have a way Mo and just call and say to Waimo, look, I want to leave my house and I want to go to the supermarket. Take me to the supermarket and no one's driving.
Has any political talk been done about driving license on these.
I haven't seen any. But I don't think you need a driver's license. Now. Again, they may say once you own the way Mo, you have to have the wai Mo insured, and they might say you got to get
a driver's license. But when you think about it, the people who would I would argue that for elderly people who no longer want to drive, particularly elderly folks who don't want to drive at night, if if these cars became available where they could buy them, uh, and they want to maintain their privacy and they don't want to be out at night getting ubers and lifts and all this. This would be a great option. Park it in your own garage. You could park it in your backyard. Just
a thought. You know. Uh, you raise good issues. I have good questions, John, As often.
Happens, I don't have a suspended license in them more, you know, get a way more car and they don't need no big.
Deal, I would assume. So unless there was some you know, new law that passes that says that you no longer you can't purchase a car if you your license has been revoked, or or you you have to have a license in order to purchase the vehicle. I'm sure that the politicians will come up with something and they'll charge you extra if you if you own a WAYMO. But I don't know if it's going to happen in my
lifetime of your lifetime. And it's it's at least fifteen years out and it keeps getting pushed out further and further, John, I got to get to a break. Thanks, I can call Pe'll appreciate it. Good night, got wide open lines here.
I think it's interesting, though, has anyone out there had the experience that I've had with driving away MO riding in a way you don't drive away moul You you sit in the backseat, and you watch the steering wheel turn, and you you are a passenger in an autoymous auto anonymous I got I had the pronunciation, and now I've lost it again. Auto autonomous rob reminds me of my ear auto autonomous vehicle. Uh. And you are simply sitting there. The cost of the ride is on your credit card
or whatever. If you have an app. I assume my daughter has an app for this everything else. She is an app for everything. I go wide open line six one seven, two four ten thirty six one seven nine three one ten thirty. What are your thoughts this? This will probably be the way people get around twenty years from now. I'm sure it's like talking about the arrival of Henry Ford's Model T when Hosses ruled the roads. Coming back on night side, don't leave me alone, give
me a call. If this doesn't carry into the next hour, we'll come up with a different topic. But I think this is a fascinating topic, maybe because I've experienced it back on nightside.
After this, now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World Night Side Studios.
I'm WBZ News Radio.
Okay, back to the phones. We go. We'll get everybody in and if we fall off, we'll we'll move to another topic. Let's go to Jerry in Michigan. Hey, Jerry, welcome back. How are you?
Yeah, I'm okay, Dan. My car is made in Germany. I don't have a way mo, but my car will maintain this distance from the car in front of you. When I put it in cruise control, it will adjust the speed limits. When the speed limit changes, it'll go up or it'll go down. I can change lanes with just the turn signal. It'll check for traffic. Make sure
there's no traffic in the way. It won't it won't go if there's traffic, and I can voice command it, tell it where I want to go, and it'll go There'll it'll maintain the lanes, but I have to keep my hands on the wheel. I can take my hands off the wheel for fifteen to thirty second something like that, and it'll tell me to put my hands back on the wheel. And if I fail to do that three times, it'll pull over to the side of the road. Stop
the car and call nine to one one. Really what type of money of a BMW No Mercedes?
Oh okay, okay, good for you, Good for you. Well, I got to tell you you, like anything else, if you get comfortable with it, I'm sure it's going to work for you. Sounds like it's a great idea. It probably is a little bit too mechanically complex or technically complex for me, because I've got a couple of those little items where you could you could go sixty five miles an hour in open roads, but I'm I'd rather
maintain control of the car. But in terms of this Weimo and again it's the company, it's not a car. It's called a Weaimo, which is it's very still a very experimental even in San Francisco.
Yeah, No, I've seen them. They've come. I live in rural I live in a rural lower part of Michigan. And uh Google's been by here with their way mos and uh they do their mapping. They've got my they've got my property. I've got three quarters of a mile on the state highway, and they've mau my driveway and my whole property up and down and and I'm pretty sure that's the same spinning thing you're talking about on the roof.
That cakes exactly. Yeah. What what city are you near in southern.
Michigan, Grailing? I'm I'm east of Grailing.
Give me a city i'll recognize.
Gaylor about about Bay City?
Yeah it was it Wasn't that the home of the wrestler Bobo Brazil, I think or something like that.
If I'm not, I don't know. I'm trying to think of the ladies. Madonna was from Bay City. And I'm probably an hour and twenty minutes north northeast, north and northwest of Bay City. Like I say, I'm in rural, rural America.
But yeah, that's great, And thank you for listening to us out there. I know I've talked to you before, and I hope you'll continue to call and listen.
Yeah, I've listened all the time. I called you with the airplane questions you had when they were scooping water, Yes, I told you, yes, yes, yes.
Yeah, you were absolutely correct. The numbers that that I had read, I either read them wrong or they were printed wrong. But I did see those planes. They came in, they touched down, they picked up, and they just then lifted off. Yeah, you described it perfectly thanks to you.
Yeah, I told you about the trains had been around since World War One world War two. They scoop water from between the railroad tracks so they don't have to stop with the water towers.
Yeah. Let me tell you you've been a great caller every time, so please continue to listen.
Okay, Well, I love my Mercedes. Like I said, it's it's not a way mom, but it it does a lot. It's got cameras all around it, and even the cameras are on when it's parked. It'll, uh, it'll, it'll text me when somebody touches the car.
Sounds great, sounds great, Jerry. What are your Mercedes by the way, bragg.
On, Oh it's it's the latest model.
What do you do out there? Are you a farmer? You said you've got a lot of land.
Yeah, I'm a farmer. I got I do cattle, but I do most of most of my money I make in the stock market. I've been I've been retired for I retired when I was forty five, and I've I've been done very well.
You know, Jerry, I'd love to have you become my stockbroker. Thanks man, I appreciate the call keep in touch. Okay, thank you, thank you. By I'm gonna go to Warren and Fall River. Warren, how are you, sir Berry?
How are you doing?
Dan?
No way I would trust being in a driving Okay, especially not in Boston.
Yeah. And by the way, I found out something about Fall River the other day that you're going to be interested in. Okay, I was listening to Congressman Auchenclass. He was with a fellow from the New York Times with a long conversation. And do you know that Donald Trump carried the city of fall River in the election of twenty twenty four. He won the city of fall River.
Really, I did not know that. That's a surprise because we're very liberal.
Well tell that. Here's why it's more of a surprise he won. According to Congressman Auchen Class, Donald President Trump won the city of fall River, the first time in over one hundred years that a Republican presidential candidate carried the city of fall River.
Wow that you know that that's kind of shocking because again, it's it's a very very very liberal city.
Yeah, so well whatever, Like it's just it's a democratic city. It's a blue collar city in many respects. Hey, look, so you would you would not get into I would not.
I would not trust it. And my worries is like that with technology and AI and the technology and the hackers. Like I remember when these things were first introduced, they were trying to hack the car and sure enough, you know you had you had a couple of hackers that would get control of the car and they would right it could drive you off a cliffs. So I never thought of that. But and what about really bad weather?
What if you're.
Driving in like a blizzard, or what what about bike lanes?
You know you leave.
Boston.
That's what makes you a great callie. You've raised all questions. It's as simple as that.
Yeah, exactly.
Hey, I'm up my break. I got you in before the before the eleven o'clock news. I thank you much as always.
Your okay, Okay, thank you, Dan.
Thank you and talk to you soon. Okay. To those are in the line, Glenn and west Roxbury, Martha and seakak you guys stay there. You'll start us off. On the other side. I'd like to continue this conversation. We may get to some open lines in the eleven, but let's keep going. Six one, seven, two, five, four, ten, thirty six one, seven, nine,