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Driverless Cars

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Yes. Informing the board about a breakthrough technology.
 
Perfect! I will fill the market for real cars when people thirst for human autonomy, once again. I can't wait to see how the government abuses this.

"Formal education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed." ~ Joseph Stalin
 
IRStuff, I'm not sure what the point of publicizing a news release made 15 months prior to this thread could possibly be either.

But on far less serious automotive message boards, the matter of throwing a line with many hooks attached to it over the stern of a small, slow-moving boat would get mentioned sooner rather than later.

Given the population polled, I'm picking up a self-serving aroma about it.


Norm

 
I've wanted that for years. But not for everybody, only for people that lack the skill level to drive, like the people that camp in the left lanes, and can't handle a 4 wheel drift etc. I have said for years there needs to be a true skill level test for driving. Like a nice race track with ice patches etc. and a minimum speed of 80 miles per hour or what ever is deemed safe on it by a professional race driver. Anyone that can not keep the car on the track should be only allowed to be on the road in a self driving car.
 
I imagine your proposal would cause more trouble than it saves. I don't know what percentage of serious accidents are really caused by poor car control skills, but I'd guess they are massively outweighed by lack of anticipation, fatigue, alcohol, exuberance, and other non track related effects. If I caught anyone doing a 4 wheel drift on public roads I'd slam them straight into jail for reckless driving.

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376
 
Definitely an interesting future is coming with self-driving vehicles.

I expect the first large market will be self-driving long-hall semi-trucks. 23 hours on the road, 1 hour for refuel/maintenance with no rest period required for the driver.

This will be paralleled by self-driving taxis. Gone will be the traditional unionized taxi driver and new Uber concept. Along with this will be self-driving shuttle bus for those airport-to-hotel, or terminal-to-long-term-parking for those that have traditional cars. Self driving buses for those cities that rely heavily on buses for intercity transportation. No bus driver or taxi driver to rob.

Then, like is done currently with business jets, companies will spring-up where you have a membership in a car fleet, but don't own your own individual car. Just summon or schedule a car for when you need it. Car pooling may become interesting if you subscribe to it as every day you may have different companions to ride with.

I expect insurance companies to at first support the driverless car because of the lucrative high premiums, but actually lower pay-outs. Later they will oppose it as once the majority of cars are self-driving accidents will become rare, and insurance companies will need fight to continue finding a source of revenue from the auto industry.

I like owning and driving my car, and will not be one to easily go to the driverless car concept. The only thing I look froward to is that with the driverless car, I can look to a retirement future of still being able to use a car for transportation even when I am too gone physically/mentally to actually drive myself. That is unless the future also processes the old and infirm into soylent green or bio-fuel [surprise emoticon].
 
Driving to a friend's house last night, I encountered an SUV driving in the far left lane (this is I-95 around D.C., so ALWAYS busy) with no lights on of any kind. I imagine a driverless car would have taken care of such issues.

Called the state troopers, but I never saw him pulled over in the 15+ miles I was with him.

Dan - Owner
Footwell%20Animation%20Tiny.gif
 
MacGyverS2000 said:
Driving to a friend's house last night, I encountered an SUV driving in the far left lane (this is I-95 around D.C., so ALWAYS busy) with no lights on of any kind. I imagine a driverless car would have taken care of such issues.
Click to expand...
That raises a interesting question. As drivers realize that they can generally get away with paying even less attention to driving, to the car, and to its condition, how much more maintenance and repair items are going to be left undone? Especially if scheduling a car replaces individual ownership - who's going to make the fix on their nickel when they can leave it for the next guy to do on his? Or you need it right now and it shows up at your door with a similar fault?

What bothers me a lot is the current assumption by many of those in favor of autonomous vehicles that "the driver will be there to take over" should that become necessary. Does anybody else see slow(er) reaction times and poorer responses happening here?


Greg - if everybody drove with somewhere near the levels of discipline, attention and courtesy that I find at performance driving track days, this entire topic and those like it wouldn't come up in this century. You have to have awareness and judgment in addition to the driving skills, plus some ability to learn from your eventual mis-steps. I'd rather have another experienced track day driver less than a car length off my rear bumper through the corner shown in the attached picture and at the speed displayed than drive in rush hour Interstate traffic at 60% of that speed. It's actually scarier to drive home from a track day than it was to drive on the track.


Norm
 
 http://files.engineering.com/getfile.aspx?folder=57c80993-d91f-4b5a-9a78-c3f090f69aac&file=Approaching_Turn_12_@_100_mph.jpg
"As drivers realize that they can generally get away with paying even less attention to driving, to the car, and to its condition, how much more maintenance and repair items are going to be left undone? Especially if scheduling a car replaces individual ownership - who's going to make the fix on their nickel when they can leave it for the next guy to do on his? Or you need it right now and it shows up at your door with a similar fault?"


Might actually go the other way. I could certainly see the car continually sending nastygram emails and ringing nag alerts while its driving you. But, even better, while you're at work, it can drive itself to the dealer and get itself serviced.

Also, it could drive itself to the dealer to get its fluids topped off, so no more of the, "well, the oil light's been on for a few months," tat was often heard on Car Talk.

TTFN
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!
homework forum: //faq731-376 forum1529
 
Norm, I was specifically talking about the effect of the driving courses I have been on, in order to get test track licenses. It was commonly observed by the grey heads that on passing said course a significant percentage of young drivers would have a single car accident on public roads.

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376
 
That would be a neat feature for a driverless car. If under warranty, the car drives itself to the dealer for service. With an app in your phone you could instruct the car to go to the car wash. You could instruct the car to go pick up the kids at school. Have the car drive the dog to the vet. A drive-thru pick-up window at a restaurant might come to mean a whole new thing as cars drive up with a rfid credit card, and they place the food in the seat for the car to deliver.
 
Greg said:
Norm, I was specifically talking about the effect of the driving courses I have been on, in order to get test track licenses. It was commonly observed by the grey heads that on passing said course a significant percentage of young drivers would have a single car accident on public roads.
Click to expand...
I guess that means that while skills can be taught, wisdom cannot and must be acquired over time and with experience. Hopefully, said individuals ↑↑↑ exhibited better judgment while driving on company time.

You're right, the level of hooning implied by 4-wheel drifting on a public street does warrant punishment more severe than a brief roadside conversation with the observing officer and a little slip of paper describing it all. At least if done intentionally in the presence of other traffic.


Comcokid said:
That would be a neat feature for a driverless car. If under warranty, the car drives itself to the dealer for service. With an app in your phone you could instruct the car to go to the car wash. You could instruct the car to go pick up the kids at school. Have the car drive the dog to the vet. A drive-thru pick-up window at a restaurant might come to mean a whole new thing as cars drive up with a rfid credit card, and they place the food in the seat for the car to deliver.
Click to expand...
A car being able to drive itself off for any of those purposes - however well-intended that might be - makes it a deal-breaker in many situations. I know I'd fully expect to be able to go out of my house/place of employment/errand destination/etc. at any moment and find the car I was using exactly where I left it. Should that not be the case, the first phone call would be to the local police station. Assuming that theft was promptly and soundly ruled out, non-availability of the car would mean non-payment for the time lost plus reimbursement for the cost of alternate transportation and perhaps a penalty for the aggravation caused.


Norm
 
"I know I'd fully expect to be able to go out of my house/place of employment/errand destination/etc. at any moment and find the car I was using exactly where I left it. "

Well, if the car is THAT SMART, it should be mature enough to send you a text, letting you know where it is and where it's going, and there would be an app that would show you its location at any instant in time.

TTFN
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!
homework forum: //faq731-376 forum1529
 
Wouldn't matter. If it can make itself unavailable on its own initiative, that's not any more acceptable than unauthorized use by a human.


Norm
 
"As drivers realize that they can generally get away with paying even less attention to driving, to the car, and to its condition, how much more maintenance and repair items are going to be left undone? Especially if scheduling a car replaces individual ownership - who's going to make the fix on their nickel when they can leave it for the next guy to do on his? Or you need it right now and it shows up at your door with a similar fault?"

If we are just scheduling a car when we need it then some other entity is going to own and maintain the car when no one is using it. It really is incredibly wasteful of natural resources to have a perfectly good automobile sitting in the company car park all day depreciating and rusting away just waiting to carry you home. It could be driving people all over town all day long earning it's keep. Far fewer cars needed if they get shared among multiple users. Of course, they will become lowest common denominator disposable commodity vehicles. The only distinguishing feature will be the colorful advertising wrapped around 100% of the visible surfaces.

----------------------------------------

The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows.
 
Agreed, IRstuff.

And I wouldn't care to be sharing a car built to my preferences (assuming that to be possible) with the risk of it not always being available or subsidizing the expense and maintenance of a car built to somebody else's (including the ride-sharing entity).


Norm
 
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