Your thoughts on 'Driverless cars"

[Parasondox]

Back like a spider you just can't kill.

I am back to doing my driving lessons now and clutch control is a piece of cake but I am not here to talk about that. Driverless acrs are a new thing and in 2015, they will be on UK roads. What's my though on it?

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, this is so lazy" - my brain.

My father has been around way before automatic vehicles came in and when they did, he called them "lazy". Heck many people I ask would say it's lazy. Driverless cars are just bringing the laziness to a new level. I dunno, I am still young and like the idea of controlling something like a car, myself. However there has been many riskless drivers these days if they GOT OFF THEIR BLOODY PHONES.

Sorry, I just don't like the idea of driverless cars. It just takes the joy out of driving and I like driving. Each lesson is a joy and I am geared in.

SO what do you think of the driverless car idea? Science and Tech just the gun here or are they missing a gear here? Give pros and cons. Feel free.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28551069
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/11068075/Googles-driverless-cars-cant-use-99pc-of-roads.html

Source: BBC and Telegraph

 

[duwenbasden]

I like a hybrid system where you control your car most of the time, but you can enter dedicated roadways that transfers control to the car. Makes highway driving a lot more pleasant.

It's not laziness, it is more time to do other things than to drive the same route everyday.

It just takes the joy out of driving and I like driving.

That's the problem, I don't like driving, and I live in North America. The 30 min commute time I can either drive it, or transit it. Driving means I have to be alert at all times; whereas transit I just need to when I make a transfer. I probably wouldn't have finished 3 books if I drove to work everyday.

 

[tilmoph]

I'm very happy with driverless cars going on the road. Simply put, I'd trust a machine with an advanced technological brain and highly sophisticated sensing equipment, one that can't be distracted or in a bad mood or utterly shitfaced, to handle a speeding metal death coffin far more than I'd trust other humans.

I don't think they will 100% replace human piloted vehicles, mind. As OP notes, some people just really like driving. Some of those might even be not child cripplingly crap at it. But on average, I think as the benefits of driverless vehicles become more apparent from real world testing, and manufacturing costs go down, they will become the majority of vehicles on the road.

Oh, and i see the transport industry absolutely loving these things. No need for rest, massively reduced accident risks, low maintenance costs (i.e. nor salary or benefits), yeah, if anything's going nearly full automated, it's going to be trucking and public transport.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Bring it.

Imagine a road system where every driver has a complete 360 view that it was constantly aware of. All safety rules were observed at all times. Every driver knows every feature of the road a head of it, even before they could see it. And, perhaps most amazingly, every driver was able to communicate instantly with every other driver, allowing cars to maneuver in unison.

That's what putting the auto in automotive is about.

Don't get me wrong - I like driving too. But the future is swarm robotics, and that includes our cars.

 

[Parasondox]

I like a hybrid system where you control your car most of the time, but you can enter dedicated roadways that transfers control to the car. Makes highway driving a lot more pleasant.

It's not laziness, it is more time to do other things than to drive the same route everyday.

It just takes the joy out of driving and I like driving.

That's the problem, I don't like driving, and I live in North America. The 30 min commute time I can either drive it, or transit it. Driving means I have to be alert at all times; whereas transit I just need to when I make a transfer. I probably wouldn't have finished 3 books if I drove to work everyday.

Yeah I see your point. Some days you just want to switch off and not do the extra work and hassle. Just shut yourself off to the world with a book or music.

 

[Gizmo1990]

Sounds boring. I love driving. I guess they are a good thing for people with disabilities and old people that can't drive anymore but until I am unable to drive myself I will continue to think of them as boring. Still at least they are not pointless and for wimps who can't drive properly like automatic gearboxes.

 

[Muspelheim]

Well, there goes another few million jobs. Damn computers taking our jerbs...

 

[HardkorSB]

People are stupid and irresponsible.
Computers aren't.
I honestly can't wait for it.

 

[Darks63]

I hate driving myself, but I wouldn't use one because i like being in control of the vehicle. There is also the danger of someone hacking the cars to kill people, cause damage, and just general mayhem too.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I don't trust driverless cars. Well no, that's not exactly true, I believe that the driverless cars will be a hell of a lot safer than real drivers, but what I don't trust is the fact that the driverless cars will be hackable and I don't trust people not to hack them.

Just imagine someone hacking hundreds of thousands of driverless cars just as a prank and then uploading code that makes them drift slightly to the left. Fairly minor, but considering the fact that people won't pay attention to what their car is doing once driverless cars are a normal thing in their life, even something that minor will create a ton of collisions.

So yeah, I don't trust driverless cars because I don't trust people not to fuck with them.

 

[Aeshi]

Computer-Driven cars are basically one more form of tracking your every move as far as I'm concerned (wasn't there a thing a while back where some government was planning to use data from these to tax the people who drive the most?)

That's not even pointing out that all it takes is one bit of malware and that Auto-mobile becomes a remotely-hijackable killing machine.

 

[Rosiv]

I just wonder that since nothing can be perfectly programmed/engineered, when the first accident does happen with a auto to auto car collision, what will be the verdict? Will the people in the car be liable or the programmers/engineers?

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

I am not against it per say.. As long as there is always a manual override implemented.
(Like with car windows, why, why, remove manual? it insane, sometimes it's needed and there should always be tried and tested backups in place.)
Other than that, we would just need a more reliable government and honest companies. Piece of cake.

I put a lot of faith in technology and believe it to be the only progressive way forward.
What I don't believe in is other people. There would have to be checks against each-other and a different educational upbringing.

..At least I didn't tangent my tangents.

 

[Dark Knifer]

I just imagine if it stops working many dads will try to fix it themselves without any IT know-how and ruin the car and make it unsafe.

I don't think it will catch on until everyone from young to old are very comfortable with computers and we are a long way off that.

 

[teqrevisited]

I don't trust drivers, but I don't trust the cars to drive themselves either. Maybe it'd be good, as long as the people driving now can't influence the cars in any way, because if driving has taught me anything it's that people are absolute idiots.

Maybe if everyone else was in driverless cars and I could stick to driving my own? Maybe then I wouldn't get cut up when someone wants to swerve without warning across two lanes of traffic because they didn't plan ahead, or not have to slam the brakes on when they decide that today is National Ignore All 'Give Way' Signs Day.

 

[Happiness Assassin]

It is not a matter of "if", but "when" when it comes to driverless cars. They will be safer than the normal drivers and they will make it simpler to get around. Oh, there will always be the option to drive manually in the future, but it won't be the primary mode of transportation.

Robots fuck up far less than actual people and they don't get distracted/tired/drunk/etc. They aren't limited to 2 eyes and don't have a blind spot. And considering the fact that car accidents kill 40000 people every year (almost all of which are caused by fuck ups on a person's part) this can only be a good thing.

Well I for one welcome our future robot chauffeurs.

 

[Johnny Impact]

I'm very happy with driverless cars going on the road. Simply put, I'd trust a machine with an advanced technological brain and highly sophisticated sensing equipment, one that can't be distracted or in a bad mood or utterly shitfaced, to handle a speeding metal death coffin far more than I'd trust other humans.

Nailed it.

Driverless cars will be engineered and programmed for courtesy and safety at all times. They'll never go for an illegal merge that forces the other guy (i.e. you) to decide between slamming on your brakes or getting hit. That makes them way better than the all-too-human Road Warrior wannabe fuckheads I have to deal with on a regular basis. I could cheerfully kill every cab driver in my town. That's not even counting the uncountable number of people I see drifting over the center line only to recover at the last second. People cannot drive, and it's getting worse. We need a device that can either drive the car for us or slap a driver upside the head every time he does something wrong. Plus, I dislike driving and have long wished someone/something would do it for me.

 

[Reed Spacer]

I'm very happy with driverless cars going on the road. Simply put, I'd trust a machine with an advanced technological brain and highly sophisticated sensing equipment, one that can't be distracted or in a bad mood or utterly shitfaced, to handle a speeding metal death coffin far more than I'd trust other humans.

Nailed it.

Driverless cars will be engineered and programmed for courtesy and safety at all times. They'll never go for an illegal merge that forces the other guy (i.e. you) to decide between slamming on your brakes or getting hit. That makes them way better than the all-too-human Road Warrior wannabe fuckheads I have to deal with on a regular basis. I could cheerfully kill every cab driver in my town. That's not even counting the uncountable number of people I see drifting over the center line only to recover at the last second. People cannot drive, and it's getting worse. We need a device that can either drive the car for us or slap a driver upside the head every time he does something wrong. Plus, I dislike driving and have long wished someone/something would do it for me.

But it goes without saying that is should have a manual control option. Automating something just invites gremlins.