Autonomous Cars

[RichUK]

Drive to the pub / bar, get drunk, then let the car drive me back.

Sounds good to me!

 

[Mayne]

we can dream right?

 

[jman19]

Messy beers?

 

[RichUK]

Messy beers?

Much win.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Drive to the pub / bar, get drunk, then let the car drive me back.

Sounds good to me!

You're forgetting the other part.

Bartender - I want my last beer to-go.

But yes, regardless of how much everyone wants to freak out about not trusting computers to do your driving... do you know what I don't trust more? OTHER Fucking retarded american drivers. The incompetency of just driving straight, not fucking with your cell phone while going 70+ on the freeway... are just BASICS that few can master.

 

[Zeze]

Drive to the pub / bar, get drunk, then let the car drive me back.

Sounds good to me!

You can do that today... it's called taxi or uber.

 

[sdifox]

Can't come soon enough.

 

[Captante]

Ever seen a movie called Maximum-Overdrive?

 

[sdifox]

Ever seen a movie called Maximum-Overdrive?

Did you find your denture?

 

[Captante]

Did you find your denture?

No damnit! What have you done with them!!??!!

 

[sdifox]

No damnit! What have you done with them!!??!!

The Green Goblin truck has it as ornament for its grille

 

[Red Squirrel]

I'm sure they'll still consider it drinking and driving. The laws will probably require your hands to be at the wheel and you will be fully liable for anything that happens. So if the system malfunctions or ceases to be able to tell the road (ex: running into construction zone or other irregular setup) and goes off auto pilot then you need to be ready to drive. Heck even planes require pilots to more or less always be alert, and auto pilot on a plane is actually easier to implement than a car. With a car every decision is split second, with a plane you have the entire sky and miles of distance to decide on things and nobody is turning or making sudden movements <10 feet from you.

 

[rh71]

Since I don't drink, I only want them to avoid having to drive attentively in traffic, or maybe long roadtrips. I actually like driving otherwise.

 

[Kaido]

I can imagine a time when car accident-related deaths are in the thousands or maybe even the hundreds. In 2016, there were 37,461 car-related deaths in America alone. Wikipedia says that Operation Iraqi Freedom (aka the Iraq War) killed 4,424 Americans...or less than we kill every 2 months on our roads. Self-driving cars can't come fast enough imo.

I also drive a lot more for work these days & see all kinds of crazy stuff every single day. People are crazy. There are a LOT of people who should NOT be driving cars at ALL. But, economics force us to do it, so the sooner we can get the humans out of the driving equation, the better. I think I've lost more friends to car accidents (speeding, drunk driving, etc.) than to anything else in my life.

 

[Kaido]

Since I don't drink, I only want them to avoid having to drive attentively in traffic, or maybe long roadtrips. I actually like driving otherwise.

I think a Tesla RV would be the bomb dot com. Go to sleep in your camper, have it autopilot all night, wake up at Disneyland the next day

 

[Red Squirrel]

Funny I was just thinking that, a self driving RV totally would be awesome if the tech actually gets to a point where it's 100% reliable.

 

[Kaido]

Funny I was just thinking that, a self driving RV totally would be awesome if the tech actually gets to a point where it's 100% reliable.

For highway driving, iirc Tesla went from 2x as safe as a human to 10x as safe as a human. So if they had some kind of roadside pull-ins to auto-recharge & then get back on the road, I'd imagine it would be a reasonably safe mode of transportation, since you wouldn't have to be navigating weird city streets or anything. You can actually buy wireless chargers for your EV right now:

https://www.pluglesspower.com

So highway driving + wireless charging off-ramps would be pretty cool for touring the country after retirement or vacations or whatever. The new Tesla semi-trucks have a 500-mile range & get 400 miles of recharging within 30 minutes, so the foundation is already there. And, you know, the new Winnebago's aren't too shabby...

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yeah I'm just wondering how it works when it encounters stuff like snow squalls or simply winter roads in general. Everything is white, snow also is audibly very different than concrete surfaces, so how well will the sensors like radar etc work to ensure it knows what the road is. I feel there should be a "rail" system (magnets, or localized precise GPS on lamp posts?) for self driving cars so that they only need to worry about other traffic and not the road too. Especially when encountering awkward places. But maybe I'm just underestimating the tech.

 

[drnickriviera]

I'm sure they'll still consider it drinking and driving. The laws will probably require your hands to be at the wheel and you will be fully liable for anything that happens. So if the system malfunctions or ceases to be able to tell the road (ex: running into construction zone or other irregular setup) and goes off auto pilot then you need to be ready to drive. Heck even planes require pilots to more or less always be alert, and auto pilot on a plane is actually easier to implement than a car. With a car every decision is split second, with a plane you have the entire sky and miles of distance to decide on things and nobody is turning or making sudden movements <10 feet from you.

You do know waymo is testing fully autonomous cars on city streets? Think the Hooman is in the back seats

 

[BarkingGhostar]

If I'm not the one driving then I can drink, no? NO, open container laws, which will now be outdated.

 

[Ancalagon44]

Autonomous cars might also see the end of private car ownership. Why own a car for your personal use? Just rent a taxi, which will be autonomous in any case. Because we will not be paying wages to drivers anymore, taxis will get a lot cheaper too.

Plus, traffic would be much, much better. There would be no need for traffic lights at intersections if every single car was autonomous. Average travel speeds would be much higher even if the maximums remain the same.

 

[sdifox]

Autonomous cars might also see the end of private car ownership. Why own a car for your personal use? Just rent a taxi, which will be autonomous in any case. Because we will not be paying wages to drivers anymore, taxis will get a lot cheaper too.

Plus, traffic would be much, much better. There would be no need for traffic lights at intersections if every single car was autonomous. Average travel speeds would be much higher even if the maximums remain the same.

I think it makes more sense for subscription plus use model for full auto cars and roadway. No need for private cars at all.

 

[Zeze]

Autonomous cars might also see the end of private car ownership. Why own a car for your personal use? Just rent a taxi, which will be autonomous in any case. Because we will not be paying wages to drivers anymore, taxis will get a lot cheaper too.

Plus, traffic would be much, much better. There would be no need for traffic lights at intersections if every single car was autonomous. Average travel speeds would be much higher even if the maximums remain the same.

I strongly disagree. Because people like owning stuff & having their own personal space.

What you're talking about is already fully available - riding taxi or uber. Why do people still own cars today then? Autonomous driving has nothing to do with it.

 

[Murloc]

You can do that today... it's called taxi or uber.

that's the thing with autonomous cars: no driver, it costs much less.

Right now I can't afford taxis.

What you're talking about is already fully available - riding taxi or uber. Why do people still own cars today then? Autonomous driving has nothing to do with it.

Because owning and driving your car is less expensive.

If massed shared ownership of autonomous cars (i.e. autonomous taxi company) was a thing, between parking car expenses and everything, they can become more convenient than owning a car, especially in cities.

Autonomous driving has everything to do with it because consumer choices are mostly dictated by prices and time expense (and time is money), and autonomous driving can tip the balance over critically in favour of public ownership, both cost-wise and time-wise.

 

[Zeze]

I see, but you underestimate how filthy people are.

These fully automated cars even without a DRIVER would be in absolute filthy state. Manned taxis alone are nasty.