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07-22-2014, 09:01 PM | |
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Driverless cars could change everything
Thought this article was cool to think about.
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-28376929 Driverless cars could change everything For now, it seems like a novelty - cars that can operate independently of human control, safely cruising down streets thanks to an array of sensors and pinpoint GPS navigation. But if the technology avoids getting crushed by government regulators and product liability lawsuits, writes the Federalist's Dan McLaughlin, it could prompt a cultural shift similar to the early 20th century move away from horses as the primary means of transportation. First and foremost, he writes, the spread of driverless cars will likely greatly reduce the number of traffic accidents - which currently cost Americans $871b (£510b) a year. "A truly driverless road would not be accident-free, given the number of accidents that would still be caused by mechanical and computer errors, weather conditions, pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists and sheer random chance," he says. "But it would make the now-routine loss of life and limb on the roads far rarer." Computer-operated cars would eventually reshape car design, he says, as things like windshields - "a large and vulnerable piece of glass" - become less necessary. Drivers will be able to sit wherever they'd like in their cars, which could make car interiors more like mobile lounges than like cockpits. The age required to operate a driverless car is likely to drop, he says. There could be an impact on the legal drinking age, as well, as preventing drunk driving was one of the prime justifications for the US-wide setting minimum age to purchase alcohol at 21 years old. There's other possible economic fallout, McLaughlin contends, such as a restructuring of the auto insurance industry, the obsolescence of taxi drivers and lower ratings for drive-time radio programmes. The high-tech security state will also get boost, he writes, as GPS-tagged cars will be easier to track, making life difficult for fugitives and car thieves. Police will also be able to move resources away from operations like traffic enforcement. Of course, he writes, the towns that rely on speed traps to fund their government services will be facing budget shortfalls. Privacy advocates could also get an unexpected boost, he notes, since traffic stops are one of the main justifications for police vehicle searches. Finally, there's the prospect of the as-yet-unrealised futurist dream of flying cars. With computer-controlled vehicles that strictly follow traffic rules, McLaughlin says, "the potential for three-dimensional roads becomes a lot less scary and more a matter of simply solving the technological challenge". Where we're going, we may not need roads after all. |
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11-17-2023, 07:36 AM | #211 |
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11-17-2023, 11:12 AM | #212 |
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It's been 9 years. Have driverless cars changed anything yet?
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11-17-2023, 11:23 AM | #213 |
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Technology is allowing cops to shut your car off while you driving it.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other...se/ar-AA1jWBYZ |
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11-17-2023, 12:40 PM | #214 | |
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Commuters will love that one.
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11-18-2023, 01:02 PM | #215 |
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That is a great point. Maybe they will will have AI drones flying above to give instructions?
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11-18-2023, 01:42 PM | #216 |
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It's not a driverless car thing, but they tried an experiment here in Colorado a few years back that I thought was interesting. As background, going to ski resorts is kind of a hassle because you're by default driving in mountains in snowy weather. They essentially had all of the vehicles follow a lead car (government car) at constant speed with no passing. In essence, they turned the normal traffic into somewhat of an autonomous train, and I presume that had the intent of not gumming up traffic with people moving different speeds and constant lane shifting, and therefore either giving everyone a higher average speed or lower crashes. I didn't hear about the results, but presume that it wasn't effective since it wasn't adopted as a normal strategy.
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11-18-2023, 06:10 PM | #217 |
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Without googling it, I would hazard to guess that even if traffic flowed somewhat reasonably well and crashes were reduced, the high testosterone guys in their vehicles with the oversized knobby tires went ballistic and that was that.
Just like some significant percentage of commuters will when driverless cars encounter the threat of snowy, icy streets and reduce speed to a crawl. Or it may be that the fleets of driverless cars will find it unprofitable to put their cars in harm's way of human drivers when the streets are that dangerous and if you thought you were going to work that day... Sorry, no cars are available.
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12-15-2023, 07:01 AM | #218 |
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Cruise slashes 24% of self-driving car workforce in sweeping layoffs
Cruise, the GM self-driving car subsidiary, is laying off 900 workers to slash costs and revamp the company, TechCrunch exclusively learned https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/14/cr...ent=newsletter |
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12-15-2023, 08:58 AM | #219 | |
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12-15-2023, 09:52 AM | #220 | |
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(this video will expire in 2 days, so you're not crazy if it's not working) I still wouldn't predict they'll be common any time soon, but it was a much smoother ride than I was expecting, especially compared to videos of Tesla drivers trying out FSD mode. |
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12-15-2023, 11:16 AM | #221 | |
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Did you experience any anxiety sitting in the back like that with no control? I think I would for a bit.
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12-15-2023, 11:18 AM | #222 | |
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Once it was on the road, it was a pretty normal ride. Definitely no safety-related anxiety. |
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02-05-2024, 09:45 AM | #223 |
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Driverless cars covered 5x more test miles in California in 2023
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - (This Feb. 2 story has been corrected to remove the word ‘Chinese’ from paragraph 9) Completely driverless vehicles traveled nearly 3.3 million miles in California last year, over five times the previous year's total, even as concerns rose in the wake of a Cruise robotaxi accident, state data on vehicle testing released on Friday showed. General Motors' (GM.N), opens new tab Cruise and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Waymo accounted for the bulk of the miles - 63% and 36% respectively - recorded without a safety driver, according to the state's department of motor vehicles (DMV). Taxis with empty driver's seats have become common in the San Francisco area. The Cruise accident, in which an autonomous vehicle hit and dragged a pedestrian 20 feet (6.1 meters), sparked a public outcry and prompted the company to halt operations across the country. Autonomous tests with a safety driver rose to 5.7 million miles from 5.1 million, DMV data from Dec. 1, 2022 to Nov. 30, 2023 showed. https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...ent=newsletter |
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02-05-2024, 10:20 AM | #224 | |
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While I agree, I would say that the autonomous cars could be an improvement. There are some awful drivers out there. Distracted driving is rampant. |
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02-05-2024, 10:24 AM | #225 | |
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The main issue will be cost. It will be FAR cheaper to order your car a couple times a day than to own a car and pay for it just to have it sit around for 20 hours a day. Ordering cars will get faster , cheaper and easier. Most people are not going to choose to pay for a car or two full time when they can just order and use them as needed. Just my thoughts... main issue: cost When the cost of driverless is far less than owning, thats when people will start switching.
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