Will you trust autonomous car to drive you?

[EvansvilleLeaf]

Of course despite the headline FUD, what the accident data show is an average of one, not at fault, minor accident per 8 years' worth of miles driven.

Objectively evaluated, such performance should accelerate rather than retard adoption of the technology.

 

[RegGuheert]

Autopilot doesn't have to be perfect, just safer than the average human being.

It's only safer if it is safer than the passenger (would-be driver) would have been on that particular trip.

There is an intersection nearby that has an extremely high incidence of red-light runners. I wonder if the autonomous drivers are smart enough to not get into an accident when there are dangerous idiots out there on the roads.

 

[DanCar]

https://medium.com/backchannel/the-view-from-the-front-seat-of-the-google-self-driving-car-46fc9f3e6088" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Status report on Google self driving cars, from Chris Urmson, director of Google’s self-driving car program:
Lots of people are not paying attention to the road. In any given daylight moment in America, there are 660,000 people behind the wheel who are checking their devices instead of watching the road. Our safety drivers routinely see people weaving in and out of their lanes; we’ve spotted people reading books, and even one playing a trumpet. With 360 degree visibility and 100% attention out in all directions at all times; our newest sensors can keep track of other vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians out to a distance of nearly two football fields.

Intersections can be scary places. Over the last several years, 21% of the fatalities and about 50% of the serious injuries on U.S. roads have involved intersections. And the injuries are usually to pedestrians and other drivers, not the driver running the red light. We’ve programmed our cars to pause briefly after a light turns green before proceeding into the intersection

 

[RegGuheert]

We’ve programmed our cars to pause briefly after a light turns green before proceeding into the intersection

That's good! Even better is to look for other vehicles which may be running the red light and then proceed only after the intersection is clear.

 

[DanCar]

We’ve programmed our cars to pause briefly after a light turns green before proceeding into the intersection

That's good! Even better is to look for other vehicles which may be running the red light and then proceed only after the intersection is clear.

As the article started, the system is always looking.

 

[MikeinDenver]

I personally will fight until my last day against owning an autonomous car. I am all for having the idiots on the road(90% of people) have them, but I actually like to drive and having someone else/thing drive me around would make me want to use apple maps and make a right turn in the middle of a bridge. :lol:

 

[desiv]

I personally will fight until my last day against owning an autonomous car. I am all for having the idiots on the road(90% of people) have them,

OK, hands up all of those who think having "bad drivers" use autonomous vehicles is a great idea!!!

.. Wow.. Lots..

OK, hands up, who thinks they fall in that group?

Hmmmm


desiv

 

[Yodrak]

Autopilot doesn't have to be perfect, just safer than the average human being.

It's only safer if it is safer than the passenger (would-be driver) would have been on that particular trip.

There is an intersection nearby that has an extremely high incidence of red-light runners. I wonder if the autonomous drivers are smart enough to not get into an accident when there are dangerous idiots out there on the roads.

In addition to not running red lights, and not having other driving habits that are unsafe, is an autonomous car going to obey speed limits? If so few people will have the patience to use one.

 

[DanCar]

In addition to not running red lights, and not having other driving habits that are unsafe, is an autonomous car going to obey speed limits? If so few people will have the patience to use one.

Tablets and connected to the internet has increased patience in my family. Not much different from sitting in a car with a computer versus sitting at home in front of a TV, game console, or computer.

I suspect one day in the distant future they will allow alcohol consumption in driverless vehicles. Some states already have laws allowing drinking if there is a chauffeur. My favorite idea is to have a bed in the car and just sleep while traveling. Anyone want a shower in the car? haha

 

[GRA]

Autopilot doesn't have to be perfect, just safer than the average human being.

It's only safer if it is safer than the passenger (would-be driver) would have been on that particular trip.

There is an intersection nearby that has an extremely high incidence of red-light runners. I wonder if the autonomous drivers are smart enough to not get into an accident when there are dangerous idiots out there on the roads.

In addition to not running red lights, and not having other driving habits that are unsafe, is an autonomous car going to obey speed limits? If so few people will have the patience to use one.

Ah, but autonomous cars would be much better at maintaining constant speeds and safe following distances, and would (assuming smart highways) be able to pass or re-route around slow-downs or accidents in the most efficient way; after all, one of the most common causes of back-ups is people slowing down to look at accidents or even just cars on the shoulder. That being the case, it would be possible to raise speed limits to reflect the much better knowledge of developing conditions ahead, and the shorter reaction time of the car's sensors. As is usually the case in America, the rate of adoption of this technology will be determined more by the legal environment than the technical one.

Although I no longer have to commute by car, I have absolutely no problem with a car that would take over stop-and-go and urban driving, or long, boring interstate legs. Bump the autonomous freeway speed limit up to 100 or 120 mph and I expect most people would be happy not to drive themselves, given the time saving. The only time I really enjoy driving is on a twisty two lane road where I'm pushing the limits, or on a two or four lane highway with great scenery, and on that last one, the ability to spend more time _looking_ at the scenery would probably be more valuable to me - the driving itself isn't usually engaging.

Divided freeways will be the first place we see autonomous cars, because the lack of cross or two-way traffic simplifies the driving task immensely. And then, it's just a question of letting the lawyers battle it out.

 

[MikeinDenver]

I personally will fight until my last day against owning an autonomous car. I am all for having the idiots on the road(90% of people) have them,

OK, hands up all of those who think having "bad drivers" use autonomous vehicles is a great idea!!!

.. Wow.. Lots..

OK, hands up, who thinks they fall in that group?

Hmmmm


desiv

All it would take is some decent testing. Fail, no DL and you get to take public transport or have to have an autonomous vehicle. The people that don't drive well are probably those that would love someone to drive them around so they can selfie the whole way and would self deport anyway.

 

[GRA]

Via GCC:

Study using real-world data finds low speed autonomous emergency braking leads to 38% reduction in rear-end crashes

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/05/20150513-aeb.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[MikeinDenver]

Via GCC:

Study using real-world data finds low speed autonomous emergency braking leads to 38% reduction in rear-end crashes

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/05/20150513-aeb.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

People not tailgating and paying attention would accomplish the same thing. :mrgreen:

 

[desiv]

People not tailgating and paying attention would accomplish the same thing.

I was thinking if they'd just add an electrode to the driver's seat that kicks in if the car has to auto-brake....
The driver would be much more likely to pay attention next time... ;-)

desiv

 

[GRA]

Via GCC:

Study using real-world data finds low speed autonomous emergency braking leads to 38% reduction in rear-end crashes

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/05/20150513-aeb.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

People not tailgating and paying attention would accomplish the same thing. :mrgreen:

Sure, but if we could count on that there'd be no need for autonomous cars (or much of our medical care system, or car insurance or . . .) Let's face it, licensing requirements and safe driving enforcement in the U.S. are laughably low, but no legislator is going to push for tougher standards, because they want to stay in office. Just look how long it took for MADD et al to get drunk driving treated as a (relatively) serious crime rather than an amusing foible. It has made it easier to pass laws against texting, but there's very little willingness to toughen driver behavior enforcement beyond that.

 

[TomT]

I'd feel safer with autonomous cars out there then with 90% of the drivers already on the road!

 

[GRA]

I'd feel safer with autonomous cars out there then with 90% of the drivers already on the road!

Assuming they (the cars - I've given up on the drivers ) work as advertised, I agree.

 

[evnow]

There is an interesting thread on TMC about a driver in Turkey who imported a Tesla and ... crashed it because he thought ACC would bring the car to a halt.

I think for a long time, automakers will give all kinds of auto-driving features but will say the driver is ultimately responsible for driving because they don't want to be liable.

The real question is when will intelligent cars be good enough to make them superior to intelligent car + liable driver.

 

[RegGuheert]

I'd feel safer with autonomous cars out there then with 90% of the drivers already on the road!

Assuming they (the cars - I've given up on the drivers ) work as advertised, I agree.

These Volvo videos are about five years old, but they are still classics:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eChAKm1t3U[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcJ9xgBZJdI[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGPFCqYk1JQ[/youtube]

 

[Nubo]

People not tailgating and paying attention would accomplish the same thing.

I was thinking if they'd just add an electrode to the driver's seat that kicks in if the car has to auto-brake....
The driver would be much more likely to pay attention next time... ;-)

desiv

I forget the name of the comedian, but remember his suggestion that driving habits would improve immensely if we did away with airbags and instead required all steering wheels to have a 12-inch steel spike in the center.