GRA
Well-known member
If that's a common occurrence then of course they won't be acceptable, but that assumes that they can never be improved to an acceptable level, which is unlikely.Boomer23 said:WetEV said:3) People who can't or shouldn't drive. Visually impaired and similar would find a self-driving car wonderful.Nubo said:The real impetus behind autonomous vehicles is
1) people who consider driving to time better spent playing with their smartphones.
2) tech companies "marveling at their own magnificence as they give birth to AI", to paraphrase Morpheus.
Until the car says "Unable to compute speed or detect lane markers, collision may be imminent. Vehicle released to human control."
Considering the number of accidents every year involving drivers impaired by health or alcohol, I expect that there will be a huge safety and economic benefit to society with the advent of autonomous cars, just as there has been with stability control and many other safety features - I don't know if there's enough data yet to show a major reduction in rear-enders and similar accidents for cars equipped with ACC and collision warning with auto braking, but I expect it to show up soon - here's some theoretical calculations: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/esv/esv20/07-0450-O.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and here's some early data showing modest reductions:
http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/desktopnews/crash-avoidance-features-reduce-crashes-insurance-claims-study-shows-autonomous-braking-and-adaptive-headlights-yield-biggest-benefits" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
And there's this article from last year rating different cars:
http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/27/autos/iihs-crash-avoidance/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Then there's the even larger social benefit of autonomous cars to an aging population, who will retain their independence and thus a higher quality of life for much longer. I know when my dad had his license pulled at 88 his world just shrank, and he felt trapped in his own house. Being dependent on someone else to take you on your errands on their schedule, or to socialize with friends is very frustrating, especially if, like my dad was, you're naturally impatient. Of course, it may be that this is the last senior generation which feels a need to get out of the house to do errands or socialize; maybe they'll just do everything via the web. But I doubt it, because for most people there's still a desire for direct human contact from time to time, even for an unsociable misanthrope like me.