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Driverless Self-Driving Cars

Luxman

#TRE45ON

Rey C.

Racing is life... anything else is just waiting.
That was very interesting... well worth watching.

Being a car guy since I was a kid, it's hard for me to wrap my head around the millennial generation and their lack of passion for automobiles. But as far as that's concerned, even my generation has largely moved away from passenger cars as a means of freedom and driving passion. My set, and those slightly younger, is buying and driving SUVs and those horrid minivans. Coupes and performance sedans (in the lower to mid-price range) are dying a slow, painful death. People complain about GM and Ford closing plants and cancelling production of passenger cars, but they're doing that because people aren't buying them in North America the way they were.

So yeah... I can see the day that in cities (not so much in rural areas) people will be more prone to hailing an autonomous electric vehicle by way of a smartphone, hoping in, along with two other people picked up along the way, and everybody pays their share of the fare. In congested cities like NYC, where it already doesn't make sense for the average person to own and insure a car, why not? To people like me though, seeing that younger people no longer have a passion for getting their licenses and wanting to strike out on the open road is kinda sad. But the world is changing... always has been, I guess. :dunno:
 
Nope, if I ever crash head on with a bridge abutment doing 100mph I wanna be the one to blame. Not some dumb computer
 

Supafly

Retired Mod
Bronze Member
Here in Germany, the wave of switching from classic petrol automobiles and other developments is in full frontal discussion, all having to do with the prolonged diesel scams pretty much every german car company is involved in.

So electric and other drives are being discussed, and the stock markets are being nervous.

I can't understand why somebody would hand over the wheel to a computer, but as you said, Rey, a new generation seems to have a new view
 

Rey C.

Racing is life... anything else is just waiting.
Like it says in the video, the most dangerous time will be when the humanoids and the autonomous people pods are on the roads at the same time. I worry more about the humanoids. They craaazy.

 

Torre82

Moderator \ Jannie
Staff member
It speaks to the paranoia in the younger asswads.
Do you trust your fellow driver to.. drive? No.
Do you trust the 'cruise control' to use less gas/power? Yes.
Do you still use your phone to text whilst driving? Wish the car would just drive itself? Yeah.

On a personal note, in a workaholic society like America.. how priceless is it to take an extra nap before work? Instead of a stressful 20-45 minute commute.. you actually CATCH UP on sleep. I feel like the benefits of a society less hands-on in one way.. will have a trickle-down benefit to everything else.

But.. its just that.. saying that out loud makes me kinda cringe. Hmm.
 

Luxman

#TRE45ON
Driverless self-driving cars cannot come too soon. I wish all cars were already self-driving.
I enjoy driving when the weather is good and the road is curvy and there is no traffic, but usually there is too much traffic or the weather is bad.

Oil cartels, car makers, and everyone else who stands to lose from self-driving cars will lobby(bribe) politicians to prevent any change, even or especially if it saves millions of lives and cuts trillions of dollars wasted on cars, fossil fuels, accidents, healthcare, emergency services and all the other aftermath.

U.S. Traffic Deaths Rise for a Second Straight Year
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/business/highway-traffic-safety.html
 

Rey C.

Racing is life... anything else is just waiting.
Autonomous transportation is going to be something truly fascinating to see as it evolves. So many questions to be answered and so many changes in the way we live our daily lives and the way our economy operates.

Here's a question for all: how do you think liability will be decided in the event of an accident? I mean, let's say an autonomous car is in an accident on the way home, after dropping off its passenger. Let's assume that the autonomous car suffers a computer system malfunction and is found to be at fault. The occupant of the other car is seriously injured. This happens to be an "old" autonomous car that's out of warranty, but the owner has performed all recommended service - so there's not a product defect or recall issue. Mechanical systems wear out. Electrical systems wear out. In other words, shit happens. So, what say you... who is liable??? And how will things like that be figured out?
 

Supafly

Retired Mod
Bronze Member
On your examplke - I believe it will fall back on the classic driver liability. The main rider in the autonomous car - the one who entered the instructions to start rolling - will have to step up with his insurance

What I have not mentioned:

Autonomous cars are a hope for myself, personally, to be able to become independent as a car user. As an epileptic, I am not allowed to drive cars, motorcycles, etc. So I never had the luxury of what most of you guys have. Having an autonomous car would literally set me free
 

Rey C.

Racing is life... anything else is just waiting.
Supa, that's probably the most positive benefit from autonomous autos. So many people (because of health or age) will be able to travel more easily. And that's a damn good thing. :thumbsup:
 
The technology isn't as far along as some believe, yet. I don't think it's something that going to be super prevalent at least not in the near future. It seems the more the concept people get into on this subject the more problems they find. It might be around someday, but I have a feeling it will take more time than a lot of people realize.

As far as liability is concerned that is also something I have wondered about since the concept of autonomous driving cars were a serious consideration. I remember saying it was a serious unstated or at least relatively unconsidered problem even years ago. Lets say one of them just messes up somehow in a non-mechanical way and somebody or something is hurt, who's responsible? Is it the owner of the vehicle, the passengers in the car, the manufacturer, the company that did the programing if different than the manufacturer? Are they all going to be legally responsible? It's going to be a legal nightmare of a mess for the courts to figure out. It might even be more expensive for victims to get restitution. I don't know how people are going to feel with leaving potentially serious legal responsibility for themselves in the hands of a computer or AI when they are otherwise innocent of any wrongdoing. How are the major car manufacturers going to feel if they are going to be responsible for a lot of the time the something goes off with the vehicle's AI?

As with any new technology with vehicles I wonder how it will hold up with age or how expensive it will be to fix. It's fine for people with well paying jobs, but what about the legions of poor people out there that drive near two decade old beaters? What happens when those vehicles are that old in the future, especially if conventional vehicle get phased out? Will it make old cars unusable? Will it be prohibitively costly to own one?

What happens when the vehicle's components get a little worn and the normal specs are a little off with it's performance. Will a self-driving car know if something is seriously wrong with it's suspension or if the brakes have lost their ability to perform as normal? Will it be able to know if something is mechanically wrong enough to stop the car to keep people from getting hurt or further keep components of the car from catastrophically breaking because they are still being used when the car needs to be fixed? What happens if it starts to get a little foggy or if hard to see ice forms on the road?

With liability who is going to be responsible if it's partly mechanical faultiness and partly programing? What happens if nobody can tell why something went wrong?

While being able to go to sleep while it drives for you or do something else to relax might be awesome, I don't know if I could ever fully trust some computer to never go off into a tree or drive off into a river while I'm asleep in it. I get a little uneasy just from trusted family members that are alright drivers when I ride along with them and go to sleep. At least when I'm driving I know if I screw up at least it's my own fault, and I have some control of what happens out on the road.
 

FreeOnes_Adam

FO Admin - 19 Cents of Magical Cock (her/shey)
Staff member
It will start with deliveries. Amazon, pizza, McDonalds, and so on. Automated. Then, before you know it, your taxis and ubers, and then.. slowly.. Skynet.
 

Luxman

#TRE45ON
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