Self-driving vehicles.... dangerous?

freerepublic.com ^ | 03/20/2018 | self

[a little elbow grease]

Now that an Arizona woman was killed after being struck by a self-driving Uber vehicle many questions come to mind not that they shouldn’t.

We live in Pittsburgh, lots of hills, and lots of snow and ice.

There are times when we have difficulty controlling a car in those conditions (our weather forecast is for 6 inches of snow later today and tonight).

A couple months ago my wife, after driving to and from work in terrible road conditions, wondered how a self-driving car would handle it. What do you think of these self-driving cars navigating snow and ice?

[vette6387]

” For now I’ll just say this ... when you account for the limits of the technology, the cost, and the difficulties of implementing it, you find that self-driving cars are a “solution” looking for a problem to solve.”

Yes, plus they are trying to take away one of life's pleasures for me. I enjoy driving, I enjoy sports car racing. Can you imagine a race with driverless cars? No skill involved, just competing computers. I can see the case for driverless trucks in some places. I-5 between Los Angeles and San Francisco, would be an ideal place for driverless trucks, particularly if they could operated in a separate lane. Ditto for lots of places out West where the distances are great and the weather is predictable. We have a friend whose son drives truck between LA and SF five days a week. What a boring effing job! Besides a paycheck, you end up with serious hemorrhoids!

[Bonemaker]

“Self-driving vehicles.... dangerous?”

Probably not any worse than the unguided missiles piloted by democrats.

[Sacajaweau]

I'm 75....and drove without abs for about 40 years so I know this old school method.

When my kids were learning to drive, I took them to an empty, icy parking lot and showed them what happens when you slam on the breaks. It was the best lesson I could teach them in snow country.

[dangus]

Uber wants to know. Funny you happen to mention one of their test cities. I’m concerned that once the technology is in place, driving your OWN car will be illegal or made prohibitively expensive. But their driverless cars are probably WAY safer than the other idiots you share the road with.

[Sacajaweau]

They will create a separate lane for these self drives..

[dangus]

>> I’m 75....and drove without abs for about 40 years <<

I drive without abs, too. I mean, they’re in there somewhere, but I really should lose my tummy.

[dangus]

I don’t blame the car. Apparently, the woman (1) stepped out into the road (2) without looking (3) at night (4) wearing dark clothes.

A human driver might well have hit her, also.

[Howie66]

Agreed. Perhaps we should outfit some H-1 Hummers and Deuces to be “driverless”. You know. For the grins and giggles.

[Alberta's Child]

That still doesn't alter the laws of physics.

Some variation of the graph below will be used in the very first class-action lawsuit against an auto manufacturer for producing a deadly self-driving car:

I can see the line of questioning in the courtroom involving the engineers and executives on the witness stand ...

ATTORNEY for the PLAINTIFFS: "If you knew that the exposure to fatal injuries increased dramatically at speeds above 25 miles per hour, then why did you design an operating system for this car that would allow it to travel faster than that speed?"

ATTORNEY for the DEFENSE: "Your honor, I'd like to request an adjournment so my client can discuss the terms of a settlement in this case before it goes to the jury."

[MortMan]

Software is only as good as its requirements, generally. I see the issues with logic, completeness, and especially ambiguity in the aerospace industry, and I have in the past seen that aerospace is decades ahead of automotive.

Bad requirements almost never yield good software.

[oh8eleven]

What do you think of these self-driving cars navigating snow and ice?
I live in Rochester NY, and know more than I ever wanted to know about driving in ice and snow.
IMO, the self-driving cars can only be an improvement, especially on the expressways.
In good weather, you see the idiot drivers passing you doing 85mph, and in winter, it's the same idiots you see doing 360s, causing accidents and ending up in snow banks off the road.
As long as self-driving cars allow humans to take control at any time, I'm all for them.

[norwaypinesavage]

There are certain conditions where it is unsafe to drive. One example is wet ice. If it is unsafe to walk on wet ice, it is also unsafe to drive on it. Yet some do.

Driverless vehicles can certainly be programmed to avoid driving on unsafe surfaces....even if they have to stop moving at all. The issue then is how they can find and move to a safe holding area.

[Buckeye McFrog]

I stand by my prediction that self-driving vehicles
will not survive First Contact with the American Tort Bar.

[Political Junkie Too]

Rush Limbaugh will finally get his wish that headlines about the SUV that killed someone would finally be accurate.

-PJ

[waynesa98]

The cops found the car is not responsible during their preliminary investigation. the car was under the speed limit, the woman was not in a cross walk and likely was crossing the road with her bike between parked cars with out looking. PS driverless cars use more the video and gps, lidar, radar, HI resolution maps and eventually info sharing, like your android phone does now with google maps. This is not a tech looking for a problem, its a disruptive new model of how one uses transportation vehicles. Savior your dumb car, its likely nearly the last one you’ll be able to buy unless your a fleet owner. The model the auto industry envisions is more like a zip car that comes to you on demand

[Aevery_Freeman]

<>"self-driving cars are a “solution” looking for a problem to solve."<>

Wanna bet that part of the problem they wish to solve is Climate Change?

Do you want Google knowing every inch you drive?

[oldplayer]

Auto-braking system recently caused a serious injury accident in the professional cycling world. The lead vehicle suddenly slammed on the brakes, causing the entire group of leading , to go down. Some slammed into the back of the vehicle and suffered broken bones and internal injuries.

[cymbeline]

“the faster we are 100% driverless, the better off we will all be”

I won’t go that far but the various accident avoidance devices they’re now putting on cars are great.

I was watching seagulls fly near our motel room railing a couple of weeks ago. The person below us was feeding them. It’s utterly miraculous how they can control their flight with those huge wings. When I see a robot do what those gulls do then possibly robotic driving is feasible.

[cincinnati65]

Driverless cars are just a way for the government to get their hands on more data about your travels. Then, they can combine it with the existing tech to shut down vehicles remotely and control your every movement.

[Sam_Damon]

There’s only one type of self-driving car that works.

It uses flanged wheels and steel rails.