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A review by maxpatiiuk
The Passengers by John Marrs
2.0
Storyline:
Very captivating, except for a week ending.
Why 2 starts?
The message behind the book is terrible.
I hate how this book sets the general public agains autonomous vehicles and modern technology in general.
Similarly, it pains me how rational people are vilified and emotions are allowed to run wild and make important decisions.
And I can't understand the protagonist's decision to go for a car with Level 2 autonomy. Fine, she witnessed a tragic event and doesn't want to be in a Level 5 car, but what's wrong with a Level 4 car? Level 4 still has full manual overwrite, while being ten times safer than a Level 2 car.
But the worst offender in the book is the completely irrational reaction of the government and its people in the aftermath of the hijacking. The book mentions that between 1000 and 2000 people have been killed (don't remember the exact number) in this terrible act of terrorism. Well, what If I told you that 1,516 is the number of people that dies annually in the UK in traffic incidents? if most of the cars on the road are of Level 5 autonomy, the number of incidents would be perhaps 100 times lower (the book doesn't mention this crucial point; no idea why).
Worldwide, the number of death is even more horrific. Around 1.35 million people die each year on the world’s roads, and another 20 million to 50 million are seriously injured.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reported_Road_Casualties_Great_Britain#/media/File:Killed_on_British_Roads.png
https://www.brake.org.uk/get-involved/take-action/mybrake/knowledge-centre/uk-road-safety#:~:text=In%202020%2C%201%2C516%20people%20were,56%20recorded%20in%20Northern%20Ireland.
https://www.governing.com/now/deaths-and-injuries-in-road-crashes-are-a-silent-epidemic-on-wheels#:~:text=About%201.3%20million%20people%20worldwide,for%20victims%20and%20their%20families.
Very captivating, except for a week ending.
Why 2 starts?
The message behind the book is terrible.
I hate how this book sets the general public agains autonomous vehicles and modern technology in general.
Similarly, it pains me how rational people are vilified and emotions are allowed to run wild and make important decisions.
And I can't understand the protagonist's decision to go for a car with Level 2 autonomy. Fine, she witnessed a tragic event and doesn't want to be in a Level 5 car, but what's wrong with a Level 4 car? Level 4 still has full manual overwrite, while being ten times safer than a Level 2 car.
But the worst offender in the book is the completely irrational reaction of the government and its people in the aftermath of the hijacking. The book mentions that between 1000 and 2000 people have been killed (don't remember the exact number) in this terrible act of terrorism. Well, what If I told you that 1,516 is the number of people that dies annually in the UK in traffic incidents? if most of the cars on the road are of Level 5 autonomy, the number of incidents would be perhaps 100 times lower (the book doesn't mention this crucial point; no idea why).
Worldwide, the number of death is even more horrific. Around 1.35 million people die each year on the world’s roads, and another 20 million to 50 million are seriously injured.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reported_Road_Casualties_Great_Britain#/media/File:Killed_on_British_Roads.png
https://www.brake.org.uk/get-involved/take-action/mybrake/knowledge-centre/uk-road-safety#:~:text=In%202020%2C%201%2C516%20people%20were,56%20recorded%20in%20Northern%20Ireland.
https://www.governing.com/now/deaths-and-injuries-in-road-crashes-are-a-silent-epidemic-on-wheels#:~:text=About%201.3%20million%20people%20worldwide,for%20victims%20and%20their%20families.