"...dog pile on da wabbit,dog pile on da wabbit,dog pile on da wabbit ( LogicDesigner)
Posted on 03/18/2015 6:41:09 AM PDT by kosciusko51
This is the second time I’ve been accused of being this Willy Green guy. I looked him up and he apparently thought passenger trains are the answer.
I personally think passenger trains are a silly, poorly thought out idea outside of a few specialized scenarios that have already been implemented (subways, etc).
Well, WG loved to tell us that government mandating fantasy tech was a great thing.
And he loved his mass transit.
http://freerepublic.com/tag/by:williegreen/index?brevity=full;tab=comments
Matter of fact, there’s Choo Choo Willy.
The real danger as the technology starts to become more common is the government trying to force installation of remote-control capability using the usual pretexts (i.e. “We need to be able to shut down cars to stop child abductions / terrorists / whatever”). See the current official moaning and gnashing of teeth over secure data encryption for a present-day example.
I just watched the whole thing. Very interesting!
Well, someone else brought up On-Star’s remote kill switch technology. It is fairly old tech at this point and I have not heard of anyone wanting to make it required. It is purely an optional feature for the owner of the car.
It is pretty neat, and they seem to have a lot of things considered. Except all those damned deer in NW New Jersey! Not in the road, but flying out of the brush above the road in a deep cut, etc.
I’d love to be a ride-along test driver/co-pilot as long as I was in the driver’s seat. I often drive around town and see how little I can use my brakes, even in moderate traffic. Get off the gas, no brakes and then just blow by people when the light changes because they passed you on the way to the red light and had to stop.
Still doesn’t address the issue of affordability. Cars are too expensive to buy and maintain as it is now. We need less bells and whistles not more.
It won’t happen anytime soon, because the mapping systems are extremely flawed and will remain so indefinitely. There are already too many instances where the GPS systems have sent vehicles down railroad tracks only to have the vehicle occupants killed in collisions with trains. Then there are the people, animals, and debris which obstruct the paths of the vehicles in ways which will result in the vehicle colliding with the obstructions, skidding off the roadway to avoid the obstructions, and assorted other mishaps the automated controls cannot cope with as well as the human driver.
Why does it have to be either/or? Why not have the best of both worlds where the machine mostly drives the car and the human can override if need be? Seems like a false dichotomy to me.
I personally think passenger trains are a silly, poorly thought out idea outside of a few specialized scenarios that have already been implemented (subways, etc).
I think the same about being controlled by a car. I think this would be the ultimate liberal/socialist/communist control system. I like to drive. I like to shift gears and don’t like automatic transmissions. I don’t like the feeling of not being in control. I don’t like to ride when someone else is driving. You can keep your prison car and I will keep my freedom.
I was aware of those videos when I wrote my comments. You’ll note they did not showcase their failures, only their successes. I have an extensive experience using the Google maps and Streetview applications, and they are highly prone to producing errors, some of which have been quite spectacular. They also are too monopolistic, overconfident, and arrogant to competently run something as simple as their email servers without botching the effort. They can hardly be entrusted to manage and control your physical safety or your personal freedoms.
Bump
"...dog pile on da wabbit,dog pile on da wabbit,dog pile on da wabbit ( LogicDesigner)
Two reasons for this. Logic, and your excellent facility to recognize it as such.
Still not addressing the point where the government doesn't have the authority to mandate this.
Most cars will still have the option, but as insurance companies see that those cars with autonomous ability get in fewer accidents, insurance rates will drop accordingly. Eventually, in the distant long term, it will be the autonomous ability that comes standard on all cars, and the manual ability that is an optional feature.
I don't think having a manual driving option should be illegal and I don't think it would be made illegal. You might have some legal restrictions on manual driving though in the form of automated-driving-only lanes, similar to HOV lanes today. An automated driving lane could go 120 mph and have less space between cars (in good weather, of course).
Regarding the quality of GPS units, if you watched the video I posted earlier then it is clear that there is a huge difference between a GPS unit that is essentially blindly reading a map and the automated car that can see everything around it and adjust accordingly.
It is also silly to think that kinks won't be worked out such as the software knowing which dirt roads will be able to support the vehicle and which will not. It really surprises me that anyone who has been awake during the past few decades does not understand that software improves.
I have windows 8 which is the biggest computer mistake I have made. I have been involved with computers since the mid 70’s and have been certified on multiple systems.
Hackers would have a field day with traffic. People are concerned about the power grid so lets add cars to it. An EMP or solar flare would completely stop the nation. How would people that can't set the clock on a VCR tell a car where to go?
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