Autonomous Vehicles

[leggo PE]

Hmm...

https://www.wired.com/2017/03/uber-redeploys-self-driving-cars-wreck-arizona/

 

[Road Guy]

also heard a tesla autocar hit a police motorcycle the other day (on the radio)

 

[deathmobile]

So, I've had much more experience with my car now, and I have to say that for the most part the ACC is pretty nice.  But one thing it does NOT do well is use a slip stream to your advantage.  Normally, if I want to go around someone on a 4 or more lane hi-way, I come up within one car following distance and accelerate some amount around the vehicle.  With ACC, you do the exact opposite.  It comes up to one car length and as I would normally then use that momentum to go around, it BRAKES and slows down.  That kills the mileage if nothing else.

Anyone who pulls that crap on me is gonna regret it!

 

[Audi Driver P.E.]

Anyone who pulls that crap on me is gonna regret it!

LOL.  After some thousands of miles on the highway, never more than a polite wave from a vehicle.  Maybe I'm underestimating the amount of distance before I move around?  Might be closer to two car lengths.  :huh:

 

[Supe]

Maybe they're throwing you the Shake and Bake sign?

 

[engineergurl]

LOL.  After some thousands of miles on the highway, never more than a polite wave from a vehicle.  Maybe I'm underestimating the amount of distance before I move around?  Might be closer to two car lengths.  :huh:

how many "dash lines" behind are you?

 

[MA_PE]

how many "dash lines" behind are you?

Dash lines?  I'm going so fast it's a single stripe!

 

[canadagoose]

I think it's a good feature for when you're sleepy.

 

[Road Guy]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/technology/uber-driverless-fatality.html

about time for this fad to end.. along with the phrase "smart corridors".....

 

[MA_PE]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/technology/uber-driverless-fatality.html

about time for this fad to end.. along with the phrase "smart corridors".....

I'm convinced that this is no fad, it is the future.  No new technology was ever developed without incident.  I'm not trying to trivialize this woman's death but I don't think it will stop development of this technology.

 

[Road Guy]

they shouldn't ever be allowed on the public right of way IMO, fine if goggle, ebay, amazon, insert sexy tech company name here, wants to use them on their own property or something, but these things shouldn't be let on the actual public streets until there has been 10+ years of documented success - or some other metric

 

[MA_PE]

they shouldn't ever be allowed on the public right of way IMO, fine if goggle, ebay, amazon, insert sexy tech company name here, wants to use them on their own property or something, but these things shouldn't be let on the actual public streets until there has been 10+ years of documented success - or some other metric

People will want it sooner than that and will come to accept that accidents happen.  What's really scary is the idiots that will purposely try to f%&k with these vehicles and then cry "lawsuit" if they get hurt.

 

[Road Guy]

I honestly don't know anyone who wants it?

Except maybe companies like uber and others who don't want to pay drivers anymore...

Cant wait to see how this goes over with the NYC Cabbies union (not that I really care about unions) but I am sure that's going to go over like a loud fart in church

We have enough fatalities on the roads without a driverless 18-wheeler plowing into a group of kids walking home from school

 

[MA_PE]

most busy urban environments would want it...you don't have to jump into a car with a stranger and robots don't rape and pillage much.

Cabbies hate anyone that takes their fares away (they already hate Uber and Lyft and any other ride share idea).  No change.

I can see driverless 18-wheelers doing the long haul routes (for a local example:  the full length of the Mass Pike).  Flat, straight, and they can send them at night or off-hours.

 

[Road Guy]

so maybe Jimmy Hoffa was leading the self driving car movement back in the day..

but I'll wager you a $100 steak from anyplace in America that even in 10 years this wont be a thing.

 

[MA_PE]

so maybe Jimmy Hoffa was leading the self driving car movement back in the day..

but I'll wager you a $100 steak from anyplace in America that even in 10 years this wont be a thing.

I might take that bet.   I like steak.

 

[wilheldp_PE]

I wonder how many pedestrians are struck and killed by non-autonomous vehicles on a daily basis.  And after several years of testing autonomous vehicles on public roads, this is the first pedestrian fatality.  The autonomous vehicle safety record cannot and will not ever be 0% as long as there are non-autonomous vehicles or pedestrians nearby.  Just like when I am driving my car (in full control of it, not in Autopilot)...I'm not worried about me doing something stupid and causing a wreck.  I'm worried about other people doing something stupid that causes me to hit them.

In the linked story, there was a human driver behind the wheel that was supposed to take control of the vehicle in an emergency situation.  I'm sure all the details aren't released yet, but it seems the human driver did not take control, at least not in time to prevent the accident, when indicates to me that the pedestrian probably stepped in front of the vehicle giving it and the driver very little time to react.  In such a situation, I would expect the autonomous vehicle to have much better ability to identify the problem and start emergency braking faster than a human.  But even if the vehicle is being controlled by computers, it is bound to physical limitations such as braking distance.

 

[Audi Driver P.E.]

It's not going away any time soon. Consider this, the worst self driving car is still better than the worst human driver, and given that they attempt to at least be as good as an average driver, roughly half of the driving population's driving is improved by having the vehicle drive itself.

 

[Supe]

Unless the laws and regulations are shaped in such a way that protects the manufacturer from liability, autonomy is at risk.  If a few high profile court cases determine that the manufacturer's software is culpable in a manslaughter case and set a precedent, the incentive to manufacture autonomous vehicles goes away.

 

[csb]

Unless the laws and regulations are shaped in such a way that protects the manufacturer from liability, autonomy is at risk.  If a few high profile court cases determine that the manufacturer's software is culpable in a manslaughter case and set a precedent, the incentive to manufacture autonomous vehicles goes away.

BUT

The auto manufacturing community has taken the lead by accepting full liability. They realize that the perceived risk is so high that they need to provide that. We are in full-on CV/AV mode around the nation as DOTs and we've been through a number of legal presentations. 

What's interesting is, when a manufacturer takes on full liability, they then have a vested interest in an occupant being buckled up and other safety features that humans can routinely choose not to do. The legal side of it is fascinating. 

But, for now, they view it as part of the investment in selling the technology.