Horseless Carriages

The Horseless Carriage was the original name for the automobile. Before the motor car was invented, passenger carriages were generally horse-drawn.  Then through various inventions, propulsion by a mechanical means came about.  This meant the carriages became horseless. Steam engines derived from locomotives, electric motors powered by batteries, and fuel fed combustion engines came about.

As far back as 1803, was said to be when the first horseless carriage was invented in London driven by a steam engine. This was duly demonstrated by Cornish born inventor and mining engineer Richard Trevithick. 

Ironically the horseless carriage in a sense killed off the first autonomous vehicles or carriages. Driver oversight was in operation when the horses were used to carry people in carts, chariots, carriages, wagons, coaches and the original omnibus. These means of transport could function autonomously without the driver, but obviously suffer from direction!

Horseless carriages, by definition, have no horses but generally still require a driver to guide the vehicle. Today the exceptions to this are the autonomous vehicles being produced, that are driverless as well as horseless! Horses have gradually been faded out from being used for their power in the line of transport. In the not too distant future, it appears that us humans will also become redundant relinquishing vehicle control in the name of the evolution of driverless vehicles. As we will not be driving cars, could it go full circle and we start riding the available horses again ? ©

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