> I would imagine that by the time we have the
> technology to produce those computerized
> cars you referred to, we'd also have some sort
> of technology to keep animals off the roads.
> Perhaps roads will be build with some sort of
> sonic or magnetic emitters that wouldn't harm
> animals, but annoy them enough to make
> them want to avoid the source.

Yeah, or on-board tazers installed on every car, that seek out motion 50 feet (or 17 meters, for Metric People) in front of the car and shoot an arc of electricity at it. Just a small voltage, mind you, not to kill our poor lovable animal friends, but to alert them and perhaps stimulate them to move out of the way. Kind of like those "humane" barking collars for dogs that supposedly get them to be quiet by zapping them whenever they bark.

This would also work on people, like small children who run out in the road to chase stray basketballs and such. Unfortunately, humans are a lot more stubborn in some respects. Whereas an animal would move out of the way as soon as it felt the shock, a person would probably *stop* doing whatever he was doing and stand there a few moments, trying to figure out what that tingling in his left leg was. And with noiseless electric cars on the rise, he'd likely never hear the vehicle coming, and the zap would be his only warning. On second thought, maybe this idea isn't so great. How about a foghorn/air-raid-siren installed on every car so people KNOW it's coming?

On the other hand, silent cars that spring instantly on unsuspecting pedestrians could work wonders for our overpopulation problem. Food for thought...