Physical Disability Australia (PDA) exists through the dedication, hard work, loyalty and commitment of its staff, board and members to support our country’s disability community.

Our most valuable contributors are often the ones who work in the background. Trish Johnson is one of these incredible individuals who has been Finance Officer here at PDA for 12 incredible years, helping behind the scenes to ensure that things run smoothly and successfully.

Trish, we are so grateful for your involvement and efforts and so proud to have you on board as a colleague and friend.

With many water sports adapted to be more inclusive and more and more opportunities becoming available to try these fun activities, maybe one of these options will whet (or “wet” 🤣) your interest.

Fishing

• For any regular anglers or people eager to give fishing a try, a number of not-for-profit organisations throughout Australia offer recreational opportunities for people with disability to pick up a fishing line and join fishing trips on shorelines, jetties and boats in rivers, oceans and estuaries. Supported by trained volunteers and using modified equipment, interested people can experience the joy of fishing:
  Fishability is based in WA – https://fishability.org.au
  FishAbility by Fishcare Victoria – https://www.vrfish.com.au/get-involved/fishability/
  Fishability QLD – https://fishability.com.au
  Fishing for the Disabled in SA – https://ioofsa.org.au/community.htm
  Fishing For Therapy – Sydney, NSW – https://www.ansansw.com.au

Sailing

• Disability inclusive sailing clubs operate throughout Australia with many making sailing accessible to everyone. Sailability is run by volunteers in every Australian state, working jointly with local sailing clubs to offer opportunities to sailors of all abilities. (https://discoversailing.org.au/sailability/)

Surfing

• The Disabled Surfers Association of Australia runs all-inclusive surfing programs to people with disabilities throughout Australia. Run by volunteers, this organisation brings the joy of surfing to anyone wanting to ride the waves. (https://www.disabledsurfers.org)

Canoeing and kayaking

• Canoeing and kayaking are a great water sport that can be adapted and enjoyed by people of all abilities. It’s also a wonderful way to experience the water – whether for fun or competitive sport. The recent addition of para-canoe to the Paralympics has encouraged a surge in popularity for those who want to take a lazy paddle to the next level. Whatever your interest level, there are clubs throughout Australia running accessible programs. (https://www.sports.org.au/canoe-kayak)

Scuba Diving

• Disabled Divers International is a not-for-profit organisation providing disabled scuba diving internationally through dive schools. Running a number of programs DDI strives to make diving more accessible for people with disabilities. (https://www.ddivers.org)

Water Skiing

• A number of disability-inclusive water skiing options are available in Australia, offering fun opportunities to PWD with a range of physical and visual impairments to give adaptive water skiing a go. Disabled Water Ski Australia can get you started. (https://disabledwaterski.com.au)

Water (Aqua) Aerobics

• These fun classes can be adapted to a wide range of disabilities, with the water working to reduce the impact of mobility limitations. Many pools and aquatic centres throughout Australia offer programs for people with disabilities to enjoy this fun fitness option.

Swimming

• Swimming is a great way to maintain fitness, build muscle strength and target core stability. Water buoyancy also helps with movement and it is easily adaptable. Many local pools and aquatic centres provide programs, warmer pools and equipment options for people with disabilities.

Kite-Surfing

• For the Adrenalin junkies amongst you, kite-surfing has seen great advances in becoming an accessible sport for people with disabilities. Modified seating equipment, tandem harnesses and wheelchair land-based trainer kites help to bring this sport to many Australians living with disability. Not yet readily available, you may have to do some research locally. (https://www.ikointl.com/blog/kitesurfing-people-disabilities)

For those of you simply wanting to enjoy the beach, Accessible Beaches provides an incredibly useful and welcome way to locate your nearest accessible beaches. Covering information such as mobimats (beach matting), beach wheelchairs, disabled parking, accessible changing rooms/toilets, ramps, pathways and direct beach access. (https://accessiblebeaches.com)

Whatever your jam is on or in the water, there are some fun sport and recreation options and some great opportunities to get your feet wet and try them out.

Enjoy!

Physical Disability Australia believes that knowledge is power and that everyone has a story to tell.

Our posts highlight news and happenings that directly impact Australia‘s disability community and our blogs and webinars ensure that we are informed and that ideas and experiences are shared.

Feedspot recently released its 35 Best Australian Disability Blogs and Websites and the PDA Team is absolutely wrapped that we were named in the Top 10 (https://blog.feedspot.com/australian_disability_blogs/).

With our incredible blog contributors having their articles published on our website (https://www.pda.org.au/blog/ and covering an incredibly diverse range of topics, honest and frank conversations and subjects to educate, inform and spark discussions, we are incredibly proud and grateful for their role in this recognition.

Thank you to all of our bloggers for your efforts.

A big thank you too to all of you who have enjoyed reading our blogs, social posts and viewing our webinars. PDA is here for you and we’re so happy to have you beside us in our journey to empower, represent, include and support our members and wider community.

If you have a blog that you would like us to feature on our blog page, please reach out to us at promotion@pda.org.au.

Stress, anxiety, health problems, huge decisions, money worries, relationship issues and just day to day life can leave any of us feeling overwhelmed.

But it’s important to know that support is available and there are always people who care and want to help.

Family, friends, colleagues, your GP or other health professionals are a good place to reach out to.

However, if you’re not comfortable speaking with them or you’re not finding the support you need there, there are some wonderfully helpful and compassionate organisations that are only a phone call or a click away.

Just talk.

And make sure that you take care of yourself and others.

Lifeline on 13 11 14
Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36
headspace on 1800 650 890

On Sunday we held the inaugural Physical Disability Awareness Day DisabiliTEA event, with people from all over Australia joining us to to bring to life a day that was established after seeing a gap in the awareness calendar for highlighting physical disabilities.

Providing a great opportunity to raise awareness of, and shed light on, the significant number of Australians living with a physical disability, this event was a great success with those attending enjoying a day to listen, learn, help raise awareness and be part of a day of support, friendships and acknowledgment.

PDA Member Laura (pictured) was the lucky winner of a signed copy of our Ambassador, Dinesh Palipana’s “Stronger” book.

With a specifically allocated Physical Disability Awareness Day having not existed either in Australia or internationally, a hardworking Committee (comprising of Sharon, Robert, Melanie, Tammy and Krystal) brought to life an event celebrating the achievements and contributions made by Australia’s physical disability community.

Little did we know that this first year would spike interest globally. Since Sunday we have had a number of organisations and individuals overseas reach out to us to express a real interest in assisting us to turn it into an international awareness day from next year.

With so many wonderful ideas and feedback from those who did attend Sunday’s event, we also look forward to growing and strengthening this opportunity of celebration and recognition moving forwards.

Later in the year we will be getting things moving for next year’s 5th February Physical Disability Awareness Day and will put a shoutout for anyone interested in getting on board to help us in our move to the international stage in just the second year of its fruition.

Together let’s make some noise, be seen, be recognised, be considered and be celebrated.

The Australia Day 2023 Honours List recognises 1047 Australians.

Of these, PDA wishes to thank and congratulate the following for their commendable contributions to Australia’s disability community:

COMPANION (AC) IN THE GENERAL DIVISION OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA

• The Honourable Margaret REYNOLDS, TAS – For eminent service to the people and Parliament of Australia, to social justice, gender equality and Indigenous rights, to local government, and to the community. Including Tasmanian State Manager, National Disability Services, 2004-2012.

OFFICER (AO) IN THE GENERAL DIVISION OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA

• Ms Glenys BEAUCHAMP PSM, ACT – For distinguished service to public administration, particularly innovative health reform, industry and science policy, and program delivery. Including Deputy Chief Executive, Department of Disability, Housing and Community Services 1999-2002.
• Associate Professor Rhonda Muriel FARAGHER, QLD – For distinguished service to people with Down Syndrome through research programs and education initiatives.
• Emeritus Professor Bruce John TONGE, VIC – For distinguished service to psychiatric medicine and research, to tertiary education, to youth, and to the community. Including Joint Winner National Research Prize, Australian Society for the Study of Intellectual Disability 1991.

MEMBER (AM) IN THE GENERAL DIVISION OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA 

• Mrs Anne Ferguson FLINT, NSW – For significant service to education, and to those with disability. Including Flintwood Disability Services Co-Founder 1999.
• Professor Lorraine GRAHAM, VIC – For significant service to education, particularly in the field of inclusive learning. Including Member Melbourne Disability Institute Advisory Board since 2019.
• Ms Geraldine Marcia HARWOOD, TAS – For significant service to youth, and to the disability sector. Including Chief Executive Officer Optia Incorporated 1993-2012, Former Chair National Disability Services, Board Member Brain Injury Association of Tasmania since 2020, Former Member Strategy Committee of Jane Franklin Hall at University Tasmania.
• Ms Jean KITTSON, NSW – For significant service to the arts as a performer, writer and comedian. Including Ambassador, Northcott Disability Services.
• The late Mr John Bruce MOXON, Formerly of NSW – For significant service to community health, and to people with physical disability. Including Physical Disability Australia Inaugural President 1996-1998 and Founding Member 1996, Parramatta City Council Access Advisory Committee Chair 1992-2012 and Member current, Physical Disability Council of New South Wales President 1997-2002 and Vice President 1994-1997 and Founding Member 1994, Spinal Cord Injuries Australia President 1984-1990 and Board Member 1984-1992 and Life Member since 2016, People with Disability Australia President (Dundas Telopea International Year of Disabled People Committee) 1981 and Information Officer 1983 and Member since 1980, Macquarie Association of Disabled Students President 1982-1983 and Founding Member 1980 and Member, Program of Appliances for Disabled People Advisory Committee Health NSW 1999-2002, Past Coordinator Wheeling Free program 2SER-FM Radio and Senior Policy Officer Disability and Recruitment NSW Public Service 1984-1990.
• The Venerable Canon Professor Peter SANDEMAN, SA – For significant service to the Anglican Church of Australia, and to the community of South Australia. Including Director Primary Health Care/Director Disability Services, SA Health Commission 1990-1994.
• Professor Katharine Shirley STEINBECK, NSW – For significant service to adolescent medicine through a range of roles. Including Executive Committee Member (Research and Clinical Expertise), Transition Care in Adolescents with Chronic Illness and Disability Network, Agency for Clinical Innovation 2010-2019.

MEDAL (OAM) OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA IN THE GENERAL DIVISION 

• Mrs Ingrid ALDERTON, SA – For service to special education. Including Contributor, SA Disability Discrimination Act Public Inquiry 2004 and Member since 1992, Department of Education South Australia Presenter of The Parent Forum Disability Policy and Programs Directorate 2018 and Manager Special Education Resource Unit and Disability Policy Programs 2014.
• Mr Glenn Lloyd BALL, NSW – For service to the community through a range of roles. Including Disability Nurse and Community Nurse 1980s.
• Mr Kevin James CLIFTON, NSW – For service to the community of Tamworth. Including Volunteer Sunnyfield Disability Services since 2004.
• Mrs Aileen Esme DAVIS, NSW – For service to people with disability. Including Riding For the Disabled Association NSW Branch Vice-President 1982-1984 and Treasurer 1980-1982 and Committee Member 1979-1992 and Founding Member 1972 and Life Member since 1992, involved with horse drawn Carriage Driving for the Disabled, Wollondilly Riding For the Disabled Group Member and Rider since 1994.
• Ms Sally Frances DUNCAN, VIC – For service to basketball, and to people with disability.
• Ms Elizabeth EXINTARIS, VIC – For service to the community, particularly through music. Including Music Composer and Presenter, Disability Standards for Education, Languages Other Than English (LOTE) Program video.
• Dr Lisa FAHEY, NSW – For service to medicine as a psychologist. Including Senior Practitioner NSW Department of Aging Disability and Home Care 1997-2000.
• Professor Chyrisse HEINE, VIC – For service to speech pathology. Including Senior Adviser Cambodia Speech Therapy Program Capacity Building for Disability Cooperation Phnom Penh 2013-2017.
• Mr Warren HOPLEY, NSW – For service to education, particularly to the disadvantaged. Including Acting Principal St Lucy’s School for Intellectual Disability 2016.
• Miss Rebecca JOHNSON, QLD – For service to the Indigenous and LGBTQI+ communities. Including Queensland LGBTQI+ Roundtable Department of Communities, Disability Services and Seniors, QLD Government.
• Mrs Belinda Rose KNIERIM, NSW – For service to the arts, and to human rights. Including Book ‘Unfinished Business’ stories from First Nations persons with disability, Outing Disability, Sydney Mardi Gras, and venues nationally since 2014, Speaker United Nations Commission on the Rights of Persons with Disability Geneva, 2016.
• Mr Barry LEECH, QLD – For service to people with a disability. Including Repatriation Artificial Limb and Appliance Centre (RALAC) Manager ACT Free Limb Scheme 1984-2001 and Director/Prosthetist Canberra 1981-1984 and Manager/Prosthetist/Orthotist Sub Centre Canberra 1977-1981 and Representative Sydney 1976-1977 and Assistant Manager Darwin 1973-1975 and ProsthetistSydney 1970-1971, Prosthetic Consultant Paralympic Teams Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 and Support Volunteer 1991.
• Ms Julie Helene LOBLINZK, NSW – For service to people with disability. Including Self Advocacy Sydney Board Member since 2021 and Coordinator 1997-2020 and Various positions since 1989, University of NSW Adjunct Lecturer School of Education since 2019 and Guest Lecturer since 2015, National Disability Insurance Scheme(NDIS) Champion, Disability Loop current and Co-writer of blog, Disability and Me – Stories about ability.
• Mrs Keryl Margaret MOIR, NT – For service to local government, and to the community of Darwin. Including Former Member, Disability Access Committee with City of Darwin.
• Mrs Justine PERKINS, NSW – For service to the community through charitable organisations. Including Inclusive and Accessible Communities, National Disability Awards, 2014.
• Mr David PESCUD, NSW – For service to people with disability. Including Creator inclusive sailing programs for people with disability enabling young people and children the opportunity to sail the east coast of Australia.
• Dr Jane Elizabeth SULLIVAN, VIC – For service to the community through a range of organisations. Including Melbourne East Disability Advocacy Volunteer Citizen Advocate 38 years and Committee of Management Member several years in mid 1980s to early 1990s and Life Member 2015.
• Mr David Douglas WRIGHT, VIC – For service to the community of Bendigo.  Including Board Member, Amicus Disability Service 2012-2016.

PUBLIC SERVICE MEDAL (PSM)

• Mrs Jodi Ann CASSAR, NSW – For outstanding public service and leadership working across government to deliver advice, information and support for people with disability, workers and carers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Ms Sarah Aileen JOHNSON, NSW – For outstanding public service to Australians with disability through leadership and commitment to the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
• Mr Dale Edward WEBSTER, TAS – For outstanding public service during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Ms Catherine Ann O’NEILL, ACT – For outstanding public service to health services as the Chief Operating Officer of Canberra Health Services.
• Dr Sally Louise SINGLETON, ACT – For outstanding public service to public health.

John Bruce Moxon has been posthumously recognised in the Australia Day Honours List, receiving the award of Member (AM) in the General Division of The Order Of Australia.

He was Physical Disability Australia’s inaugural President and not only helped to shape our organisation, but also Australia’s progressive disability landscape.

John was recognised for his significant service to community health and to people with physical disability. This included (but was not limited to) his involvement with PDA as inaugural President 1996-1998 and Founding Member 1996, Parramatta City Council Access Advisory Committee Chair 1992-2012 and Member current, Physical Disability Council of New South Wales President 1997-2002 and Vice President 1994-1997 and Founding Member 1994, Spinal Cord Injuries Australia President 1984-1990 and Board Member 1984-1992 and Life Member since 2016, People with Disability Australia President (Dundas Telopea International Year of Disabled People Committee) 1981 and Information Officer 1983 and Member since 1980, Macquarie Association of Disabled Students President 1982-1983 and Founding Member 1980 and Member, Program of Appliances for Disabled People Advisory Committee Health NSW 1999-2002, Past Coordinator Wheeling Free program 2SER-FM Radio and Senior Policy Officer Disability and Recruitment NSW Public Service 1984-1990.

Never forgotten.

Written by PDA’s VIC Director, Tim Harte

Speaking up for others or oneself is the elementary definition of advocacy. Crucially ‘speaking up’ is a variable course of action in the pursuit of achieving a specific outcome. Different forms of advocacy are characterised through the process of ‘speaking up’ and the scope of the advocacy’s aims. 

Individual/case-based advocacy aims to achieve a specific outcome for an individual. An NDIS appeal that advocated for provision of physiotherapy as an early intervention support in my NDIS plan is an example of individual/case-based advocacy. 

Systemic advocacy aims to achieve outcomes for the benefit of a population of people through modification of policy, procedure, legislation, or practice. A civil class action against a government body for non-compliance of bus stops with relevant disability discrimination is an example of systemic advocacy.

Within the scope of individual/case-based advocacy is: 

• citizen advocacy, involving individuals receiving support from volunteers;

• self-advocacy, where individuals advocate for themselves;

• professional advocacy, where professionals advocate on behalf of an individual;

• and carer/peer advocacy, where carers or peers advocate on behalf of an individual.

The literature base on advocacy in Australia states that professional advocacy is the primary advocacy type operating within the scope of systemic advocacy, however, systemic advocacy, in recent decades, is increasingly utilising knowledge from individual cases to contribute to the collective systemic advocacy case for policy, legislation, or practice change. Collective systemic self-advocacy coordinated by Disabled People’s Organisations, like Physical Disability Australia, conducts perpetual systemic advocacy work, utilising the individual experiences of People with Disabilities to understand flaws in system in order to work with Government in advising and advocating for solutions to reduce barriers and improve the experiences of People with Disabilities as they navigate society.^1-4  

Why is advocacy important? 

Human rights are attained and realised through advocacy.⁵ Considerable historical background validates that advocacy, in various forms, has been successfully used to rectify discrimination and inequity experienced by vulnerable and marginalised groups. Examples of direct action, collective action and movement building by people with disabilities date back over a century, in 1920 the National League of the Blind in the United Kingdom successfully conducted mass protests about working conditions and poverty experienced by the disability community. In recent years, in Australia, the #LetHerSpeak advocacy campaign, founded by Grace Tame and Nina Funnell, successfully employed various key areas of campaigning to achieve legislative reform, amending the Criminal Code Amendment (Sexual Abuse Terminology) Act 2020 (Tas) s 5 to uphold freedom of expression rights for child sexual abuse survivors.^6-9

Physical Disability Australia works to ensure the rights of all People with Disabilities are realised. As a Disabled People’s Organisations, Physical Disability Australia, mission is centred by the lived-experience of our members. Systemic advocacy is the process of us (PDA) speaking up and elevating the voices of People with Disabilities to ensure decision makers know what barriers our community encounters and what solutions are available to resolve and overcome these barriers.

_{1. Dalrymple, J., & Boylan, J. (2013). Effective advocacy in social work. Sage. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781473957718}

_{2. Dunning, A. (1995). Citizen advocacy with older people: a code of good practice. Centre for Policy on Ageing.}

_{3. Forbat, L., & Atkinson, D. (2005). Advocacy in practice: The troubled position of advocates in adult services. British Journal of Social Work, 35(3), 321-335. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bch184}

_{4. Rossetti, Z., Burke, M. M., Rios, K., Tovar, J. A., Schraml-Block, K., Rivera, J. I., Cruz, J. & Lee, J. D. (2021). From individual to systemic advocacy: Parents as change agents. Exceptionality, 29(3), 232-247. https://doi.org/10.1080/09362835.2020.1850456}

_{5. Brolan, C. E., Boyle, F. M., Dean, J. H., Taylor Gomez, M., Ware, R. S., & Lennox, N. G. (2012). Health advocacy: a vital step in attaining human rights for adults with intellectual disability. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 56(11), 1087-1097. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2788.2012.01637.x}

_{6. Assembly, U. G. (1966). International covenant on civil and political rights. United Nations, Treaty Series, 999, 171. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/ccpr.pdf}

_{7. Dallaston, E., & Mathews, B. (2022). Reforming Australian criminal laws against persistent child sexual abuse. Sydney L. Rev., 44, 77. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.500121913977664}

_{8. French, S. (2017). Visual impairment and work: Experiences of visually impaired people. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315569536}

_{9. Nash, A. (2001). People. dot. community: A resource for effective community activism. Villamanta Legal Service.}

There are some really interesting, informative and entertaining videos to watch – including our two most recent webinars around “Disability and Relationships”.

In “Relationships Part 1: Family, Friends and Support Workers” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ijm7gzLKHww) our 3 panelists will share their stories around relationships and the challenges that they have faced and (in some cases) continue to deal with.

From family dynamics with parents, brothers, sisters, maintaining boundaries with support workers, knowing who your true friends are, and an interesting look at relationships from the perspectives of both a mother and son, this is a very insightful presentation.

In “Relationships Part 2: Intimate Relationships” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUOhg7irPZ0) the presenters will honestly and frankly share their personal stories, discussing the ways disability has shaped and influenced their relationships. They will also give insight into challenges encountered in their love lives and the importance of both partners’ needs being central to the conversation.

From waning libido, to loss in confidence, to finding practicable ways to be intimate and finding (and keeping) your perfect soul mate, this webinar will cover topics that are all too often swept under the carpet.

What happens if disability gets in the way of a sexual or emotional relationship? What if sex is a challenge or just not of interest to one partner? What if fear or lack of confidence sabotages a relationship or the search for someone to love and to be loved by?

A great exploration of intimacy around disability that shouldn’t be missed.

Do yourself a favour and check these (and all of PDA’s other videos)out.

Whilst you’re there, don’t forget to subscribe to the PDA YouTube channel so that you’re kept up to date with all future webinar additions.

Tyson Grubb (CEO, Instrument Choice) has written an interesting piece on autonomous cars.

PDA’s NSW Associate Director, Peter Simpson, believes that this technological advancement will leave wheelchair users out in the cold in the same way that wheelchair accessible taxis has done.

Thank you to Tyson Grubb for allowing us to share this article.

I’m a bit of a thinker, often I get side tracked considering how the future is shaped by the decisions and technologies that are coming about today.  

In 2016 I was fortunate to get access to see Googles autonomous vehicle test track in California, watching these cars go about their business with no drivers on board made it clear to me that the future of human drivers was limited.  When we consider the exponential growth in computing power (check out Moore’s law), the reliability and likelihood of this technology becoming mainstream grows exponentially.

Autonomous cars will likely be commonplace at the start of next decade.  This will change the way we travel, the way we own cars and is predicted to bring traffic accidents close to zero.  You might have heard about some of the effects of self-driving cars, like the loss of jobs of truck drivers or the reduction in accidents once most cars are autonomous.  There are other knock on effects of technology you may not have thought of, there may be other factors that could affect these outcomes, but these are my predictions based on what could happen (without considering other unknowns such as world economic changes or government regulations etc).

1. Regional house prices will grow faster than in the city
Many people dream of a tree change, but their work commute stops them from making the leap.  Now with work from home increasing (because of the pandemic), regional prices have pushed up, this trend will continue when you can do other things instead of driving (while your car whisks you to work), you can sleep, work, have breakfast, have a meeting or catch up on more Netflix, you won’t think twice about a longer commute.  And with regional property supply being restricted while demand increases, the price of country living will go up.

2. Will you own a car?
Probably not.  You see, once the cost of the driver is eliminated then the cost of a ‘taxi’ or ‘Uber’ type service will shrink significantly, and for most people it will be much cheaper to use a short-term car hire service than to own a car (forget dealing with the maintenance costs and issues that comes with car ownership).  You may miss your own car at first, but when you can press a button on an app and a car arrives to your location within minutes and can take you anywhere for a small fee, why would you bother having your own car.  The question then will be, what will you use your garage for, a games room, home office or the ultimate man-cave or she-shed?

3. Car parks will die
So, cars will pick you up from wherever you are and drop you off where you want to go.  But what does the car do in-between?  It picks someone else up, it keeps working, it keeps transporting people and so does not need to park anywhere.  Of course, it will need to refuel or recharge its batteries (as they will be electric or possibly hydrogen powered), but this will be a much shorter period than if you were to park your car for meetings, shopping, entertainment etc.  And the carparks for charging will probably exist in cheaper real-estate on the outskirts of cities (pushing up the prices of the land on the edges of cities a little too).

4. The car insurance industry will collapse
With only companies owning the cars (this is Uber’s plan by the way), and no accidents, what will the car insurance industry be able to charge for?  Not much, car insurance will be a thing of the past for the general consumer and the companies that own the cars will pay a much smaller amount as accidents reduce to next to nothing.

5. Bus routes will become more nuanced
Buses will be smaller and the number of routes will increase, buses can take you closer to where you want to go.  Think of them more as a larger car pooling service where you are sharing with a group of people based on where you all want to go at that point in time.

6. Package delivery costs will shrink
With the drivers not needed for long haul cross road transport, safety rules not requiring breaks then the cost of trucking goods will decrease.  For cross town transport, the autonomous truck will rock up at your house or work, and a drone will do the last 20m of delivery, dropping the parcel safely at your door.

7. Police will need to raise revenue from somewhere other than traffic violations
Autonomous cars will be programmed not to break the law and so won’t.  In 2017 Australian speeding fines totalled $1.1 billion, without considering all other traffic violations and that this number would likely to have increased in the last 5 years.  This is a lot of cash the government will not be receiving, but then perhaps less police will be needed as they won’t be spending their days monitoring traffic. Will there be less police, or will police be moved to where they are needed?

I am sure there are more knock-on effects, and over the next 8-10 years a lot will change too.  

How do you think autonomous cars will change the world?  Is it good, bad, or just is what it is?  Would love to hear your thoughts.