Expert claims driverless cars will lead to more sex behind the wheel

Forget the mile high club, the dawn of autonomous cars could kickstart a new, worrying race to join the 70-mile-an-hour club. 

At least, that's the opinion of Barrie Kirk, co-founder of the Canadian Automated Vehicles Center Of Excellence. Speaking to the Toronoto Sun, Kirk explained his fears that, as cars get smarter and drivers find themselves with less to do behind the wheel, their attention (and hands) could wander.

"I am predicting that, once computers are doing the driving, there will be a lot more sex in cars," said Kirk, like some sort of smutty tech soothsayer. "That's one of several things people will do which will inhibit their ability to respond quickly when the computer says to the human, 'Take over.'"

One 'smart' car that's already taken to the road is Tesla's Model S: the car features an auto-pilot mode, but it won't do all the driving for you. While it'll cruise along stretches of motorway quite happily - regulating speed and overtaking slower traffic - as soon as it detects a scenario that requires faster reaction times, it'll ask you to take over. If you're otherwise engaged, that could be problematic. 

"People will not be able to respond in time," warns Kirk. 

Sex might not be the only activity drivers turn to (we don't all think like randy old Kirk). From checking smartphones to reading books, the false promise of 'auto-pilot' features could see us turn to a long list of distractions. Check out the following video from Jalopnik showing a 'safe for work' activity they got up to in a Tesla Model S.

If you do own a self-driving car, be aware that you'll always need to maintain concentration even when you aren't "driving". 

(Image: Shutterstock)