Posted on 03/07/2015 3:05:54 AM PST by SMGFan
Although we’re likely a decade or two away from every person on the block owning a driverless car, when the time comes we could be saving billions of dollars and spending far less time dealing with auto accidents.
The Wall Street Journal reports that a new study found that widespread use of self-driving cars could eliminate 90% of all auto accidents in the U.S. and decrease the costs related to accident damage and health issues by around $190 billion each year.
(Excerpt) Read more at consumerist.com ...
This is a really dumb idea.
“Maybe in the next 50 years this might be practical for a very few applications. Maybe semi’s on the interstate might have a GPS auto pilot mode. City buses might have auto pilot. Those silly buses at airports might have auto pilot.”
2017 Cadillacs will drive on the freeway with no hands or feet controlling the car...
Self driving cars are very possible with no central control, and will be a blessing in terms of both safety and productivity. As with many other things, it’s up to all of us to make sure that they’re not state-controlled...
“Look you take the metro rail in DC and they have a human in the front car, why? If that cant be automated then what can?”
First of all, those were designed many years ago. Second, unions.
Every car will have a subroutine, triggered by the Central Bureau, to lock the doors and drive you to a FEMA camp for “special processing”.
Like I said there are too many limitations to fully auto mate driving. A simple lane change is going to always require human intervention just for safety reasons alone. They’re will be some limited applications but never fully auto.
They still haven’t delivered on the promise of flying cars *or* jet packs yet.
The bottom line is that liberals crave this, because it takes away control over cars, which is a huge symbol of individualism, and turns cars into mass transit controlled by the government.
“Like I said there are too many limitations to fully auto mate driving. A simple lane change is going to always require human intervention just for safety reasons alone. They’re will be some limited applications but never fully auto.”
That’s simply not correct. It’s already being widely tested. Do some reading on the topic.
Without the crashes caused by teenagers, drunks, and illegal aliens, the crash rate could be cut substantially in Texas.
As it stands right now most auto repairs are so expensive we live in a throw away world now, even for cars. As long as this is optional(which it won't be) it might have some use.
PS: are you really going to let go of the steering wheel of your 50,000 car going 80 mph?
“What could go wrong?”
What goes wrong with human drivers? Let’s see:
- Distracted
- Drunk
- Incompetent
- Poor reaction times
- Falling asleep
- Medical emergencies
How many of those are likely to apply to self-driving cars?
Volvo is about to run a pilot on public streets in Sweden.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20150301/OEM06/303029948?template=mobile
Can a self driving car see a child playing with a ball in a yard and know to slow down in case the kid runs into the street?
Can the self driving car determine if the object ahead is a squirrel, dog, or child and if needed swerve accordingly?
Can a self driving car ‘see’ the back up lights of someone getting ready to pull out of their driveway? Or how about see someone in a parallel parked car and be prepared or them to throw open their door without looking?
Can a self driving car ‘see’ that the snow in the wheel tracks is turning to ice and change lane positions to get better grip in a quick stop situation?
Does the self driving car know that the intersection ahead is the one that by whatever coincidence of the forces of nature gets slicker than an ice rink, when it starts to freeze?
Does the self driving car know about the stop light with the bad sensor that if you don't pull all the way up to the stop line will not trigger?
Can a self driving car ‘see’ that big pothole you know is there that stays hidden until the last moment and eats Prius tires for lunch then straddle it so you don't get a flat? Personally I'd rather have a self flat fixing car than a self driving car.
Does the self driving car know to look for the dust of oncoming traffic on dirt roads?
Does the self driving car have the ability to watch a rocky hillside for falling rocks?
In short humans have the ability to adapt their knowledge to unknown but similar circumstances a computer can only react to the exact set of situations it is programmed for. There are simply too many variables in the real world to put lives in the hands of a machine brain on the roads. If that doesn't convince you, go watch the Star Trek episode with M5.
I can just feel the excitement building in the “hacker” community, as we speak.
And, we thought “swatting” was bad...
And a bonus for terrorists. They no longer have to find a driver for the car bomb. Brilliant! Brilliant!</s>
I always point out that I took a test drive in one of these things (under a very controlled environment at a test track) more than twenty years ago. The technology was in place to do this all the way back then, but it has never been implemented for the same reason I told the team of design engineers back then that it would never work: It relies too much on technology that is subject to minor failures far too frequently to be considered an "safe" process.
The last time I made this point was at a professional conference where the subject came up. One of the speakers made this impressive presentation about how self-driving vehicles were going to change the world we live in. When the time came for questions and answers, I raised my hand and stood up. My question went something like this:
"Sir, there are five seats up there where panelists have been speaking at various sessions at this conference here today. Those of us in the crowd may have noticed that two of the microphones at those five seats had to be replaced earlier today because they weren't functioning correctly. Now I'll turn to this audience and ask them a simple question: If something as simple as a microphone -- that has been in use for decades -- has a failure rate of 40% right here in this room, does anyone here trust that a "self-driving car" will ever work?"
This is actually the beginning of the end of the human driven car.
I already read about roads with intersections with no traffic lights. The automobiles will weave in and out and between each other making left and right turns with precision that humans could not maintain. Of course, only cars with auto-drive would be allowed on these roads. And fewer and fewer roads would NOT be “auto-drive only”.
Also:
1. They would be a HE** of a lot better for people that don’t like to drive anyway. This would make them popular. Imagine the long distance trip on I-90, I-5 or I-65 in a car designed from the ground up with auto drive in mind. You are in the car reading, playing video games, enjoying the scenery (maybe with large screen video images from your connected and automated drone at 1,000 ft altitude). Doing school work, creating art, practicing your guitar, having sex. You name it.
2. Insurance rates for human driven cars would become prohibitive. You’d have to really WANT to do it and have the funds to support your hobby (which is what it will become).
The world is changing. Exponentially.
The very first paragraph reads: "Although we’re likely a decade or two away from every person on the block owning a driverless car...."
Mindless drivel from the same people who worry about Polar bears drowning.
"And POOF your problems will magically disappear!"
Show me the tech, then let's chat.
You must work with my mom, they get similar reprimands.
I believe self-driving cars will be common place in a short number of years. We’re already seeing self-parking cars and now, self-stopping cars are coming quickly to the market. The tipping point will simply be the moment accident rates for self-driven cars fall below the current accident rates. They do not have to be infallible, just less fallible. And then, insurance rates for non-*smart* cars will begin to rise until there’s a financial reason to switch.
I just bought a car last year and I am of the opinion it will be the last non-intelligent self-driving car I will own. As for keeping our old, low-tech cars, well, once insurance rates for them are 2 to 3 times more expensive than for the newer ones, it will be a self-correcting issue.
The savings would be offset by the loss of productivity due to driverless cars obeying speed limits.
Ping.
You are correct. Whenever we get a “new” car, it’s at least 10 years old. If self driving cars were required, we would be unable to drive-big problem in our rural area.
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