Commute solutions

Guess what? The solution to traffic jams is right around the corner.

That's right ­ last week NASA and several other aeronautics companies announced preliminary plans to develop personal jetpacks. Although the contraptions will be marketed to the military first, reports indicate the companies plan to open up to the private sector within 10 years.

Isn't that incredible? This means the end of traffic jams, car accidents and drunk driving. Now we will be able to fly, hundreds of feet in the air.

Unfortunately, the idea is sheer madness ­ pure and utter craziness. We will have wasted all the time we have spent promoting carpooling. These personal jetpacks ­ the keyword being personal ­ are built for one person. Ridesharing will no longer be possible. The environment will suffer.

The sky will turn a dark shade of gray as thousands of people take to the air at rush hour. At least the freeways and streets will be empty.

We license pilots before they climb into the cockpit. We license drivers before they take to the wheel ­ although admittedly is not the most effective screening process.

Jetpack commuters would have to be licensed under even stricter guidelines than other air pilots. We just can't have any moron buzzing around in the sky.

And what happens when a drunk straps on his jetpack and takes off for a test flight? Imagine the lawsuits that will come about as a result of these contraptions. Allowing untrained and under-qualified jackholes flying around hundreds of feet in the air is just asking for problems.

Hopefully, however, before the packs become mass-marketed someone will figure out these details. That way maybe we will be prepared for the next phase of transportation.