Self-Driving Vehicles Will Cause Countless Avoidable Deaths, Say No America!

True. That may well be the more likely direction. I don't really want to own a car - I just want transportation.

Whether there is a driver inside will be up to the company I use for a particular trip.

 

So what will the average speeds be then, any idea?

Edit. Come to think about it, there can't be average speeds because all vehicles would need to be running at the same speed.

 

Two things aren't taken into account in those assertions - 1, most drivers like driving, and in the case of overtaking would prefer to do it themselves rather than put their entire trust in the technology, and 2, if I wanted a car with the performance of say a BMW, then for me a car programmed to a common regulated speed wouldn't cut it. It won't be feasible. Or if it becomes feasible nobody will buy into it unless freedom of choice is denied by law.

 

It might work flawlessly on Volvo's test track, but the roads networks are a different kettle of fish?

 

whatever the posted speeds are...and adjusted to road conditions when need be.

 

why do you need to overtake if you're already doing the allowable posted speed? are you wanting to deliberate break traffic laws, that argument doesn't hold water, you do not have the freedom of choice to break laws...automation may even allow speed limits to rise as human error is taken out of the equation and slow drivers who hold up traffic would no longer be a problem...

 

practical tests were done in real world driving conditions, flawlessly...

 

Got your flying car yet?

No?

How can that be? After all, somebody predicted them, and said that only luddites would deny the inevitability of them.

As far as ride sharing goes, that doesn't work, as everyone wants the rides at the same time, morning and evening rush hour. That means one car per person is still required. In such a case, a person may as well have their own car, being that means they can stuff their random junk in it and keep it there, something you can't do with a rideshare. Just think about how much crap you keep in your own car.

 

flying cars are now conceivable with AI, it wasn't a practical with lax driving standards of today but AI removes the idiot factor from the controls, a practical propulsion system has yet to be developed for urban use...yeah a luddite would put his fingers in their ears and deny that too...the same luddite tendency said the same about short range electric but then reality takes over, 99% of driving are of short commutes which are easily covered by electric vehicles...

rideshare is thriving and growing, just because you can't conceive of it due to your advanced age doesn't negate a cultural shift away from personal ownership which you can't comprehend...

I store nothing in my vehicles, they're for transport...even my work tools are kept in my garage until I need to transport them...obviously my work truck is one of the exceptions where ride share won't work...

 

I think we're a long way from having self driving aircraft. Cars are far easier, because there are only two dimensions and our road system (both physical and legal) is an extremely strong limiting factor.

 

How will the adjustments of speed be made if the car is driverless then?

 

Exactly, and it can be proved like this: an aerial view of the roads around all major towns and cities at peak times will show literally thousands of vehicles on those roads; it doesn't take much imagination to convert those vehicles into the same number of flying machines to realise it just won't work, no way, no how! It looks to me that this autonomous vehicle thingy hasn't been thought through.

 

Actually autonomous cars are a much harder problem than autonomous aircraft. Airplanes have 3 dimensions of freedom, and once in the sky

 

Actually autonomous cars are a much harder problem than autonomous aircraft. Airplanes have much more freedom (x-y-z position, speed, heading), and once in the sky really only have to avoid other aircraft.

Autonomous cars have a much more complicated problem - they are in traffic, have to maneuver within crowded areas, have to stop and start, avoid pedestrians and bikes and unexpected objects in the road, obey traffic laws (signs, lights, railroad barriers, etc), and have to stay on the road.

Staying on the road is not easy either. Some roads are well marked (reflective paint for edge and lane and center lines, plus raised reflective markers in the center of the road, and even rumble strips on the edge and center), other roads have no markings at all. The car has to be able to recognize and obey the markings on the roads, and stay on a road that has no markings at all.

In some cities, GPS is augmented with local area corrections and other navigation systems. In other areas, there is no augmentation to GPS and the road may even be covered under a canopy of trees which can degrade accuracy.

Autonomous cars is a much more difficult problem.

And by the way, we already have self-driving aircraft. They land and take off from aircraft carriers, operate from airports and monitor the weather and ocean and provide surveillance for law enforcement, and even launch weapons and kill bad guys.

 

The air traffic problem is not the same as the surface roads and highways problem.

Today, we do NOT use surface traffic law in controlling air traffic - and vice versa. They are two very different things.

So, I can't accept you line of logic concerning self driving automobiles.

 

Hey, I live in Seattle - one of the first places where the airport was upgraded to allow self landing systems.

But, besides the equipment at the airport it requires significant law and operational support to keep all other traffic out of the area.

So, we proved that an airplane can land itself if there is no other traffic within a mile or so and there is specialized navigation equipment at the landing site and there is a couple miles of landing strip (or arresting wires).

I don't believe that is anything like what people think is meant by an aircraft version of autonomous cars.

 

That's for a commercial govt owned/regulated airport. Once out of CONUS and out from under the FAA (or in restricted airspace), life is much easier.

The technology of autonomous aircraft exists and is in operation. What is under development are the procedures - that's the FAA side of the problem.

The technology for autonomous cars is far less mature, its still in the lab being developed, and it is far more sophisticated than for aircraft.

 

Yes. I think it is the procedures that are the big issue, NOT the ability to fly and follow a course to a landing site.

But, if any percent of the current commuter traffic were to decide to do so in a flying car, we would have no procedures that would save them. ATC would not be enough. "See and avoid" would not be enough. The landing sites don't exist except for on a few buildings such as news stations, ER hospitals, and some corporations where traffic is seriously limited.

Car makers are figuring out how not to hit stuff using the rules of the road. More significant use by low altitude aircraft for delivery systems, commuting, etc., is also going to have to figure out how not to hit stuff, including each other, and what is required for landing sites.

I know there are people thinking about this. I just think they have a long way to go.

 

True, but I would love to have a flying car.

 

How many Uber, Lyft and Cab drivers are on this thread?

 

Currently, one ?

 

Only one?

 

A friend of mine and I owned a Malibu for a number of years - 20,000' cruising in 6 seats of pressurized cabin at 225 mph.

Not a flying car, but a bucket of fun just the same.

 

Yes.

Currently, just the one.

 

1. AMEN. In London and other places, cars drive the city at night with running lights - far less glare and easier viewing.
2. I do think more driving aids will come from this self driving car direction. There are cars that can park themselves, for example. I think there are cars that will warn the driver if they aren't staying in their lane.
3. Another good one. I can see accidents on my phone. But, I don't see any indication of the best strategy for dealing with it.
4. Yes - I've heard that all cars, not just self driving cars, are likely to be required to emit certain kinds of information to nearby traffic.