Meet the Man Who Drove Cross-Country and Tried to Avoid All Human Contact
- Posted on June 1, 2012 at 7:00pm by
Liz Klimas
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In an Audi A7 David Brancaccio drove from the East Coast to the West Coast trying to only use technology on his way. (Photo: Automobile Magazine/Chris Monroe, David Brancaccio)
Driving an Audi A7 and armed with as much technology that he could ever want to use, David Brancaccio made it his mission to travel across the country without human contact.
His journey from the East Coast to West Coast is chronicled in Automobile Magazine. He writes that he took on this endeavor to find out “if technology has become so pervasive that a person could drive across the United States, Atlantic to Pacific, dealing only with machines, no humans.”
The car provided for the trip — an Audi A7 — is the first step to “[sealing] myself into a cocoon of technology,” he writes. The $78,680 vehicle features a wireless hotspot, a color driver-information panel, and sensors that evaluate other drivers’ actions around it, among other high-tech gadgets and functions.
(Photo: Automobile Magazine/Chris Monroe, David Brancaccio)
Brancaccio had this robotic dog as his companion. (Photo: Automobile Magazine/Chris Monroe, David Brancaccio)
Here are a few of the interesting human-free things that helped Brancaccio avoid human contact:
- He was equipped with several GPS systems, including his phone, his iPad, one embedded in the Audi and a TomTom (that has the voice of his wife recorded).
- He kept a microwave in the back of the car so he could use self-checkout lanes and make his meals without a trip to a restaurant or a visit by a delivery person.
- Hyatt hotels had kiosks that let travelers check-in and out, allowing him to avoid a hotel clerk. He found out later Hyatt is removing these kiosks because less than 2 percent of people use them. He also visited a Westin with a similar kiosk situation.
- Self-service pumping stations keep him fueled up. He does have a beef with the argument that these stations’ “purpose” is to allow human clerks to help customers in other ways though. He calls it a “service-eradication device.”
- The Pinball Hall of Fame provides him with some downtime without an entry fee to pay and change machine so he can play without needing a human to give him coins.
- EZ Pass lets him fly through tolls. He does learn the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge does not accept EZ pass and will be paying a penalty for zooming through its FasTrak lane without the appropriate payment gadget.
At a self-service hotel check-in kiosk. (Photo: Automobile Magazine/Chris Monroe, David Brancaccio)
What lessons did Brancaccio learn from trying to only use technology on his trip?
- Bring more than three beers. You can’t buy alcohol from a self-checkout without having the monitoring cashier come check your ID.
- Getting bills smaller than a $20 is difficult.
- You can’t eat at Rendezvous in Memphis, which he describes as “one of the great barbecue places on earth.”
- He spends more time looking at his navigation systems than he does the countryside he is passing through.
On day six, Brancaccio “takes stock” of his trip. Here’s what writes:
Among the successes, I’ve been able to transact all my business with machines alone. On the other hand, there was the tragedy of insufficient beer supply. And I must admit that there have been some run-ins with F&Bs (flesh and bloods). When I tried to scan an ear of corn in Virginia, the human overlord of the self-checkout section descended on me in full customer-service glory. And checking in with a robot receptionist in Oklahoma City around midnight, I could not dodge the Wizard of Oz. The night manager, by the name of Oz, had recognized my name from the computer, knew my work, and wanted to shake my hand. What could I do, hand him a slip of paper saying “sorry, I no longer speak with my fans”?
(Photo: Automobile Magazine/Chris Monroe, David Brancaccio)
In the end, Brancaccio finds “man cannot live by technology alone.” He sits himself down at a beach bar on the Pacific coast and has a drink on Barry, ”the first human I would hang with in six days, my flesh-and-blood California pal.”
Watch Brancaccio’s interview with CNN about his trip:
Read Brancaccio’s full story on Automobile Magazine here.
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k_semler
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 4:17amWant to travel without human contact is easy enough. Travel across the country from WA to FL using only ATM’s for cash, vending machines for food, self-service fuel stations for fuel, and a rand-mcnally road atlas of all 50 states. Also carry 8 quarts of oil, 2 oil filters , a grease gun, spare spark plugs, spare wires, a starter motor, a spare primary condenser, 16 gallons of water, energy bars, an entrenching tool, rope, a first aid kit, 10 gallons of extra fuel, $100 in cash in $1 bills, a tool kit for your rig, a sleeping bag, an axe, a collapsible stock rifle with 100 rounds, a pistol with 50 rounds, 3 spare tires, a jack, 3 cans of fix-a-flat, a tire iron, 15 gallons of water, 5 cans of sterno, an “emergency blanket”, a tarp, 50 feet of paracord, 16 tent stakes, 8 6foot bamboo poles, an emergency water purification system, 80 lbs of wood, a magnesium fire starter, a ka-bar fighting knife, a ziplock bag full of dryer lint , 4 spare lighters, 1lb of small sticks for kindling, a fishing pole, spare line, extra lures, your ID, and finally a comfortable vehicle to sleep in.
If you plan your route, know what you are doing, and know how to use this equipment, you will easily make it from coast to coast without any contact with useless, time-wasting, sucky “reality” sacks of meat.. Heck, outside of work, I go for weeks on end, (sometimes pushing into months), without coming into contact with another human being. Other people don’t need me, and I don’t need them
Report Post »psychokittis
Posted on June 2, 2012 at 7:06pmOne of the things that appears to have been missed about this article is that the whole thing was an experiment. He wanted to find out how pevasive technology has become. It also appears that he discovered that one cannot avoid contact with the rest of the human race.
Report Post »jackact
Posted on June 2, 2012 at 11:11amYou don’t have to avoid human contact by driving across country.
Report Post »Just move to any BLUE state.
toomuchgovt
Posted on June 3, 2012 at 1:29pmAmen, you will WANT to avoid all human contact while living in a BLUE state. I prefer my animals.
Report Post »RamonPreston
Posted on June 2, 2012 at 10:52amMust be a “slow news day.”
Report Post »G-WHIZ
Posted on June 2, 2012 at 10:27amIf idiot wants to avoid “all human contact” , he cannot “drive” anything because it was designed and made by humans. He cannot use clothes and shoes, nore walk on any form of “road” including bridges and tunnels, and human-made paths. Kill-for-food with only your hands-feet-teeth, no knives, guns, arrows, ropes. If your teeth are capped or “replacements” remove all man-made things. This includes all medicines and internal-augments. NOW, what’s left can “go” on your “trip”. Oh–Yeah! No backpacks(etc..) either(man-made)…no extra-”food-storeage”…stop…kill…eat, and move-on.
Report Post »Todd P
Posted on June 2, 2012 at 10:13amWhat a waste of time. I would rather take a scenic road trip with my wife, and enjoy the sights along the way.
Report Post »TheFederalist
Posted on June 2, 2012 at 6:31amHeck, I could do that without any of the fancy gadgets. Just use an RV and an good old fashioned printed map.
Report Post »little big man
Posted on June 2, 2012 at 9:53amMost people now a days are not smart enough to read a map anymore.
Report Post »Justice_Gustine
Posted on June 2, 2012 at 1:03amAnd when the satellites fade or AT$T has no service he’s cooked.
My used Chevy & I could do the same with an ipod and a Rand McNally road atlas. A compass and the sun & stars.
Don’t let technology make you go soft America. Keep your pioneer edge, it may come in handy sometime.
Report Post »R.A. Bullseye
Posted on June 1, 2012 at 11:06pmThis guy is obnoxious.
Report Post »Sincarne
Posted on June 1, 2012 at 9:48pmThough it would be so much more pleasant to drive across the country avoiding technology…
Report Post »CoyoteDKM
Posted on June 2, 2012 at 1:14amSince a car, or anything else you may be “driving”, is technology, your dream is impossible. Maybe you could “ride”.
Report Post »piper60
Posted on June 1, 2012 at 9:15pmI hate the idea of not using a cashier at the grocery store. The way I figure it, if I use the do it yourself lane, I a m encouraging the store to not hire young people as clerks.
Report Post »SocialistSlayer
Posted on June 2, 2012 at 8:14amI agree 100% – People who use self check out are destroying what few jobs we have left!
Report Post »THXll38
Posted on June 1, 2012 at 8:25pmI think the microwave was a good idea. I also think a mini fridge wold have been nice as well. That way he could have a stock of beer on hand. That said, a nice truck and a truck bed camper would have solved a lot of human contact. Most Walmarts and other parking lots allow people to stay there free of charge.
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on June 1, 2012 at 9:24pmforget the walmart parking lots and just pull off on the long exit or entrance ramps that dot this nation’s rural areas and you are set. Personally, I don‘t stay at a hotel when I’m driving long distance. I drive until is start to doze, pull off, set an alarm for 3 hours later, put the gun in the center console or seat, and lean back for a nap with the doors locked. Worst case scenario is no worse than the worst case scenario at a motel. And in all reality, sleeping in your car is safer because you don’t run the risk of slipping into a bed with an unclean hypodermic needle from the meth head who rented the room before you.
My last comment is that for this man to truly travel cross country without the help of another human, he’d need to wear clothes made from cotton he grew, ate only what he grew, and walked the entire way because it sure as hell wasn’t him that made an Audi A7 with all of the technology gadgets he used.
Report Post »mharry860
Posted on June 1, 2012 at 9:51pmSGTB, you mean rest area, stopping on an off ramp is dangerous. A friendly uniformed person will be knocking on your window within 20 minutes.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on June 1, 2012 at 8:02pmEnergy… Food & Drink… Toilet… Bed… WHAT was he thinking?
Report Post »whatthecrazy
Posted on June 1, 2012 at 7:41pmUh i try to avoid human contact alot lately as i don’t want to come across somebody demon possessed and hungry,i have enough problems……………..
Report Post »The Gooch
Posted on June 1, 2012 at 7:39pmMuch of technology has turned so-called men into little girls. There are grown men who cry the blues how they lose cell service on rural roads or carry their gadgets like a woman with a purse. Geeks.
Report Post »Freefromyou
Posted on June 1, 2012 at 7:18pmThere will soon come a day when a man will try the exact opposite and not even make it out of the city, let alone the county he lives in. Machines are here to stay…..I am afraid humans are not.
Report Post »The Gooch
Posted on June 1, 2012 at 7:48pmUm… right. I agree that nothing lasts forever. However, machines are very much more dependent upon human beings than human beings are truly dependent upon machines. Addiction and need are two very different things. I like my computer. I do not need it. I hate my cell phone. But other people insist I have one.
Report Post »I like sci fi… but I don’t buy the foolish claims of The Matrix and Terminator crowd. Good fun… but far from any foreseeable, realistic future.