Just because you don't need or want some new technology doesn't automatically make you a Luddite.
I have no desire for a self-driving car. I don't have to be the first one to get the latest phone or other gadget, either.

I don't know a single person that would embrace this or want any part of it. It won't happen in my lifetime.

quote:

Originally posted by Ishootsometimes:
"a useless technology"

Care to buy a Buggy Whip?

Exactly ... More and more "kids" don't want to drive and I think the current generation will embrace the self driving car.

My daughter Abby is 17, and of her friends about 1/2 are old enough but don't and don't want to. I was taking Abby and her horde of friends to hang out at Sonic last week and one of her girl friends said her parents were "making he get her license because they were tired of hauling her around" ... I don't know about this girl, but Abby is involved in so many activities sometimes it is a real inconvenience to get her there, and I'm talking about things for school and church, not play-dates. Even a lot of boys aren't getting their licenses.
I bought Abby a new Buick Encore 2 years ago and she just got her learners permit in August. My thinking was she'd be thrilled! We would both drive it until she got her un-restricted license, it was something she could learn in it and it would get her through collage, It never occurred to me that she wouldn't like it, but she really doesn't ... I got it because it has 10 airbags and it sits high enough she can see around in it but she's like her dad and wants something classic, low and sporty, like my 72 Corvette but she wants Bluetooth in it.

When we were their age, it meant you were coming of age, it was a right of passage ... and freedom, or liberation, whatever you want to call it.
Of course my day was back when a person could work on their car without a degree in computers or highly specialized tools! Today's cars seem to have big plastic covers so you can't see much of anything except where to put in windshield washer fluid!

I don't want it for me, necessarily, but that's just me. I don't like being a passenger.

I think we can all agree that having no driver at all would be an improvement over some of the drivers we've seen. Watching someone attempt the perilous 27-point turn to get into a parallel parking spot... waiting behind someone on the phone at a green light...

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
If you think people using a driverless car are going to be paying attention to what's going on around them on the road, I guess you have more faith in humankind than I do. A driverless car is the perfect excuse for an imbecile to become completely distracted and inattentive. Even asleep.

I think at some point in the future autonomous cars will be reliable in most if not all circumstances. That being said, it will be a bumpy ride the first few years as some people will come to completely trust their car's computer sooner than justified, meaning either they won't be paying attention when their attention is urgently needed, or their driving skills will have either eroded or never been developed, and thus they won't be capable of properly driving when the car's computer isn't up to a particular challenge.

I personally look forward to the day when I can put essentially complete faith in a car to get me safely to my destination, but I'll always want the ability to take the controls when I see fit, be it to keep my skills up, drive off road, etc.

I think most people are getting way sidetracked. The original topic is debating whether this technology is going to happen or not.

Everyone has fallen into the debate on whether each of us LIKES the technology or not which is an entirely different debate.

I don't like the idea of it like I said previously but I have no doubt it's going to happen.

Do you non believers really think that every single car manufacturer has no idea what they are talking about. These are people that are seeing the reality of this technology first hand on a daily basis, which clearly none of us are. I could see if it was just Tesla or maybe even throw in a couple other manufacturers but it's every single manufacturer.

I also believe the big push for electric cars is not really related to gasoline but instead it's because it makes full automation that much easier.

Every manufacturer is putting tons of effort into electrifying their fleet. Is gas really that expensive? I don't think so everyone still has their SUV's. They just know the future with the next generation of cars is going to have some autonomous features and it will quickly ramp up from then on generation after generation until they are fully autonomous.

quote:

I don't know a single person that would embrace this or want any part of it.

I can't wait for the technology to get here. Once the fully automatic no driver controls systems get worked out I am in.


Considering how many accidents already happen everyday the bar is set pretty low to make the roads safer. I think the biggest danger to self driving cars will be the human drivers on the road with them. (Yea, I get that you're a good driver, You're special)

I think that the first practical application will be over the road trucking. Not the end points driving but the highway portions. Think of a driver picking up a load, driving to the interstate system, programming in the auto pilot, and sleeping until the exit, then taking control and delivering the load. There is already a shortage of true professional drivers and it is only going to get worse.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by esdunbar:
Once they get here, they will take over fast! They will also completely change car ownership.

That’s why the car companies are going to start their own version of Uber; they know car ownership will drop and they need to add a revenue stream.

I will never own a "driverless car." No way never.

Just more control over our lives. Jesus.

Exactly. Now imagine being compelled to use a driverless for everyone else's peace of mind.

Can a legal expert comment on the liability of all this?

For the most part, auto accidents today are due to driver error or road hazards, not product failures.

In the case of a "driverless" car, how is the liability assigned? If truly driverless, is the manufacturer liable for all failures that result in injury or death? Is it legal to force people to accept liability disclaimers if they want to ride in the driverless car?

My observation is that the tech industry in general is not really serious about supplying systems that work as intended, reliably. They tend to rush to market unfinished product that they can fix with software updates once they find out what happens when customers get ahold of the thing. Imagine if they had to provide a product that worked, as intended, without ever having a chance of a software update? Now every electronic device - computer, phone, tablet, TV, disc player, AV receiver, media player, etc. all are getting a constant stream of software and firmware updates to fix issues either not identified during testing, or not significant enough to prevent public release before they are fixed.

Read the disclaimer on any piece of software, especially Microsoft Windows? The software industry legally disclaims any actual warranty that the software functions as intended, only guaranteeing that the software media is readable and installable.

And for the most part, if your computer crashes, you reboot. Same for your phone if it locks up. Usually a reboot takes care of things, but no one is getting hurt in those situations.

So now they are dabbling in an area where software failure can cause injury or death. Is the mindset of "push it out and fix it with the updates" going to change?

quote:

Originally posted by SpinZone:

I think that the first practical application will be over the road trucking. Not the end points driving but the highway portions. Think of a driver picking up a load, driving to the interstate system, programming in the auto pilot, and sleeping until the exit, then taking control and delivering the load. There is already a shortage of true professional drivers and it is only going to get worse.

For chrissakes, even on a ship which is sailing on thousands of square miles of open ocean with most times miles (even hundreds of miles) of distance between it and another vessel, there is always someone awake standing watch on the bridge while on auto pilot, and you think it'll be perfectly safe for a trucker to sleep while his rig is self driving?

You guys are out of your minds.

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:
Can a legal expert comment on the liability of all this?

You're expecting a forum to resolve the legal issues of a technology still under development?

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by SpinZone:

I think that the first practical application will be over the road trucking. Not the end points driving but the highway portions. Think of a driver picking up a load, driving to the interstate system, programming in the auto pilot, and sleeping until the exit, then taking control and delivering the load. There is already a shortage of true professional drivers and it is only going to get worse.

For chrissakes, even on a ship which is sailing on thousands of square miles of open ocean with most times miles (even hundreds of miles) of distance between it and another vessel, there is always someone awake standing watch on the bridge while on auto pilot, and you think it'll be perfectly safe for a trucker to sleep while his rig is self driving?

You guys are out of your minds.

Well considering that ships are not designed with driverless level technologies (yet) and the theoretical trucks would be your comparison isn't very practical.
Especially since the shipping industry is already working on automation and remote piloting for much the same reasons as the trucking industry.

Well just to be accurate the original gist of this thread wasn't if this tech would happen or not, it was that it was expected soon. Actually even said that in the title of the thread. Lol

It ain't happening soon. There will be cars that operate "like" a driverless car (already here) but that isn't the same as a driverless car.

You guys are also insane, yes insane, if you think somebody sleeping in a big rig while waiting for their exit wake up call is either going to happen or even an intelligent idea. Every autopilot known to man is monitored by some human who is awake at all times (other than sailboats in the middle of nowhere but those guys are fucking crazy anyways, big ocean little boat).

This works, kinda, only in places like California where the weather is perfect and the roads are pristine.

What driver less tech will realistically do is improve the highway cruise control aspect of driving. You will set it and if conditions permit it will lane keep, maintain distance, warn you of your exit coming up. It won't find you a parking spot at the strip mall. It won't get you place to place without ever "driving".

It will also make you the most distracted driver ever. But that still might be safer than the texters and cell phone people we have now. Time will tell. But not anytime soon. Lol

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by SpinZone:

I think that the first practical application will be over the road trucking. Not the end points driving but the highway portions. Think of a driver picking up a load, driving to the interstate system, programming in the auto pilot, and sleeping until the exit, then taking control and delivering the load. There is already a shortage of true professional drivers and it is only going to get worse.

For chrissakes, even on a ship which is sailing on thousands of square miles of open ocean with most times miles (even hundreds of miles) of distance between it and another vessel, there is always someone awake standing watch on the bridge while on auto pilot, and you think it'll be perfectly safe for a trucker to sleep while his rig is self driving?

You guys are out of your minds.

As scary as that sounds it has already been done.

http://fortune.com/2016/10/25/...truck-beer-delivery/

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by SpinZone:
I think that the first practical application will be over the road trucking. Not the end points driving but the highway portions. Think of a driver picking up a load, driving to the interstate system, programming in the auto pilot, and sleeping until the exit, then taking control and delivering the load. There is already a shortage of true professional drivers and it is only going to get worse.

For chrissakes, even on a ship which is sailing on thousands of square miles of open ocean with most times miles (even hundreds of miles) of distance between it and another vessel, there is always someone awake standing watch on the bridge while on auto pilot, and you think it'll be perfectly safe for a trucker to sleep while his rig is self driving?

You guys are out of your minds.

As scary as that sounds it has already been done.

http://fortune.com/2016/10/25/...truck-beer-delivery/

I doubt that the driver was sleeping, though.

As long as it has an override button, it is fine with me.

I want an ejector seat and a crash helmet.

Maybe some cool goggles, too.

I'll admit I don't know much about the technology.

What would it do, for example, if:

1) A kid suddenly runs out into the street? As a driver, I can make a decision to swerve and hit an adjacent car or even opposing traffic vs hitting the kid. Or if it's a coyote, maybe I would choose to hit the coyote. What decisions and on what basis would the technology make while the driver is sleeping, playing on his phone, doing her makeup or whatever?

2) lots more but maybe start slow...

In my opinion, even happy path will be challenging. Not sure these companies in pursuit of the almighty dollar will do any due diligence to exception handling.

Feels reminiscent of approving Obamacare -- shove it down our throats, don't give us a choice, don't get to see it until it's out there....

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
...while the driver is sleeping, playing on his phone, doing her makeup or whatever...

...'batin, joining the Meter High Club, baking a soufflé, birthing kittens...

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
This works, kinda, only in places like California where the weather is perfect and the roads are pristine.

NOW that's some funny shit .