I see it as the opposite, humans are getting more and more comfortable with distracted driving as cars deploy all sorts of connected content...
The Subaru driver was likely texting..... it's an epidemic!
There are a lot of situations that a human would spot but not a computer program. A good example is a guy in pickup slowing down next to a turn lane jammed with traffic. A human knows that he's looking to cut in. At exactly what point do you give up and let him in? If the algorithm is too conservative, cars will be cutting in all the time. If the algorithm is too aggressive, we'll have accidents. The algorithm will need to take account which section of which city, which weather and time of day, and what kind of car we are dealing with. One answer is 100% self driving, or at least communicating, cars. But that will take a while.
This is actually one of the easier things to achieve, simple learning algorithms will slowly update the vehicles on the optimum combination to get the best flow through. All the parcel services do something similar just that it is executed by a human driver.
Perhaps you're not old enough to remember when lighting a cigarette was the number one cause of accidents. I won't argue that adding devices increases the likelihood of distracted driving, but I would suggest that ever since we turned or car seats into living room furniture (an analogy I got from a CHP officer) we've become somewhat insulated to the dangers of driving. All told, devices are just one of many distractions and focus is at the mercy of the driver, not the distraction.
I absolutely expect these kind of remarks. Wake me up when we're there. Until then monkeys may fly out of my butt.
Good points, and I'm sure there are many more.
If we could magically flip a switch and suddenly all vehicles on the road were autonomous using the very latest technology, I'll bet the following would happen:
We are already there...People (ironically because they're not perfect) wrongfully compare autonomous driving to perfect...Yet they're not perfect, I'll just go ahead give you benefit of the doubt that you were simply born genetically gifted, are immune to any possible distractions and have never in your life been in an automobile accident...The average Joe is not as perfect as you, accidents are a way of life, humans get into accidents all the time...As long as autonomous tech gets into fewer accidents than humans, it's already won...Heck, the Toyotas (middle car) air bags went off, that a pretty serious hit and ruined the day for its occupants...If the Subaru driver even had auto emergency braking, which BTW overrides driver input, odds significantly go down of the Toyotas air bags deploying and at best, the whole accident could have been avoided...Fine by me if you want to quote this but more autonomous accidents and even deaths will happen, but it'll be less than human drivers...The current average of automobile deaths in the United States are 90/day...
Well we're jumping to conclusions today are we?
I don't think anyone is in a position to say if accidents/injuries will go down or up with autonomous vehicles mixing in with human drivers. It's unfounded confidence (or lack of) IMO. I don't have any numbers but I'll bet if you compare total hours driving between autonomous and human drivers, the humans have a better average so far. It's too soon to draw any conclusion from that, because there is really no fair way to make that comparison.
I hear things like this all the time, people say one and do another...A coworker was very anti-texting, got a divorce and got into tinder...While driving, replying to tinder messages became more attractive for him...
I've seen those several times. I'd like to say I spotted the accident well before it happened, but that is cheating since I knew it was an accident video.
I have some experience with machines. Software engineers and the challenges of their work as well.
Sure it is, and it'll be very important for a small number of people.
The clues are there. The question is will the machine see them.
Another reason I don't regret leaving. Sorry, that isn't meant to be an insult - just a truth. The coasts are becoming an exercise in alternate reality. I'd rather drop some blotter if I feel the need for alternate reality, but I gave that up a long time ago.
Interesting point.
It will need to do the same as a human does when driving a lot slower than the average: increase speed when people are approaching too fast. If it can't speed up then it can try to get the attention of the idiot behind: flash hazards, move around the lane, etc.Interesting point.
I guess it will only be an issue during the transition phase, once it's all Johnny Cab... no speeding!
My drive to work yesterday would have been a good test for an autonomous vehicle....
On a three lane divided expressway posted at 55mph for the entire length of the road- I was doing 66mph in the right lane. People in the middle and left lanes were literally blasting by me like I was standing still. At work I commented to an associate who drives the same road- he said he was doing 87mph in the left lane and they were right up his butt at 32mph over the 55mph posted speed limit... a few even blasted by him too he said.
What would the autonomous vehicle do in a case like that?
I live near I-88. I joke that people take that as the speed limit. West of here the speed limit is 70, but towards the city it's 55 and we have 3 speeds that people normally drive - one for each lane. Left lane is 75, middle lane is 70 and the right lane is anything goes. The right lane might have a 55 driver holding things up, or a 90 driver trying to pass on the right.Interesting point.
I guess it will only be an issue during the transition phase, once it's all Johnny Cab... no speeding!
My drive to work yesterday would have been a good test for an autonomous vehicle....
On a three lane divided expressway posted at 55mph for the entire length of the road- I was doing 66mph in the right lane. People in the middle and left lanes were literally blasting by me like I was standing still. At work I commented to an associate who drives the same road- he said he was doing 87mph in the left lane and they were right up his butt at 32mph over the 55mph posted speed limit... a few even blasted by him too he said.
What would the autonomous vehicle do in a case like that?
Yes it's always the other guy who's the idiot. I think George Carlin pointed that out well - R.I.P.
Or speeding becomes safer? Why have limits at all?
