When we look back to visions of the future we often see the idea of a flying car entering into science fiction. Although the idea of a flying car can be especially powerful when you’re sitting in traffic and you want to get to a destination much faster, mass-produced flying cars are a long way off. Here are some of the top reasons why we don’t have flying cars everywhere yet:
Fuel
The biggest problem with the concept for many of today’s flying cars is that they run on traditional fossil fuels. There are some theorize designs that utilize the idea of superconductors that could generate magnetism propelling cars into the air, but we are a long way off this type of design. Until we are able to get away from fossil fuels and aircraft fuels for flying cars, running one of these vehicles is simply too expensive and wasteful.
Infrastructure
Our roads and transit system would have to change considerably. We may need to build new lights and some type of road network even for cars that could fly. Keeping limits on these vehicles or even using auto drive technology to ensure that they could stay within a lane or within specific rules over urban areas would remain important. We haven’t even begun to tackle the infrastructure needs of flying cars.
Laws
Laws hold back almost any vehicle before it hits the road. Even reform on testing can take time. Making sure that any driver of a flying car was not under the influence of substances would be important and some form of testing may need to be done before they could take to the air. Licensing would also have to be established. Whether drivers would need a special permit, the traffic laws for the air and emergency procedures if there was ever an accident.
These are just a few of the top concerns that come with flying cars. Although we do have the technology to have a vehicle that could drive and take to the sky while still fitting within a lane of traffic, it simply is not a viable option for mass production with so many barriers holding it back.