Driverless Cars - are you getting in?

[hairysasquatch]

Had a conversation yesterday in which the other guy insisted that driverless Cars would be here sooner rather than later because the insurance companies will demand them as a means of loss reduction. So I thought I would take the pulse of America here. Please see poll below. Post deep thoughts in thread.

[BostonNut]

Pass...I'm not that lazy.

[kaushikentucky]

So, I'm in the transportation sector, this has really picked up steam in the Trucking industry. There's a new company called Peloton who allows multiple trucks to drive together and the first truck driver is the only one driving.

The insurance claims and gas savings are the main reason companies are interested. Kind of like Tour de France and drafting to save the gas.

Here's their trailer: http://peloton-tech.com/

[deansayso]

My tractors have been driving themselves for 10 years now and now case has come out with a cabless driverless tractor.

[Stifle]

If the CEO's of the insurance companies who want driverless test cars had to be the first to test them, then we may have to wait a long, long, long time.

[Branesergen]

I'm in when the technology gets better. As of now it's no big deal but when I was working on drilling rigs and driving 8 hours to work, or worse working 12 hours and then driving home it sure would be nice to sleep on the drive lol

[Timmay]

This will be great for elderly drivers. Being 60 myself I can see buying one in 10-15 years if I live long enough.

[TheFrenzy]

Technologies people were terrified of when they first appeared:

- Lightning rods
- Bicycles
- Forks
- The freaking post office
- Trains
- Planes
- Cars themselves

I know people will likely be resistant to giving up what they perceive to be control, but the argument gets really simple when you realize automated driving would mean the end of:

- deaths from impaired drivers (over 10,000 per year)
- deaths due to human error (over 35,000 per year)
- standstill traffic (over 8 billion hours per year - at minimum wage that costs the economy over $50 billion per year)

[TheFrenzy]

Originally Posted by BostonNut

Pass...I'm not that lazy.

Lazy?

Do you have any idea how much work you could get done before you even got to the office? I would love to be able to have all my emails answered and articles read during a morning commute.

[Stifle]

Monkeys were afraid to go into orbit with good reason. We just remember the one that came back. We didn't use humans but lost many a good test pilots in various aspects of air travel. If they want them, let them test them, not on govt money.

[oldgoldy97]

Better than my wife.

[Nicnac]

It will happen and driving your own car will become as mundane and useless as manually programming TV stations on a VCR.

[TheFrenzy]

In 10 years, only hipsters will manually drive their cars.

[Ray27Ray52]

There will be still be fatal crashes involving driver less cars.

The question is how they will be designed. Will they be designed to favor loss of life to passenger or civilian?

[ssbledsoe]

Originally Posted by TheFrenzy

Lazy?

Do you have any idea how much work you could get done before you even got to the office? I would love to be able to have all my emails answered and articles read during a morning commute.

Isn't that what you're supposed to do while driving to work???

[TheFrenzy]

Originally Posted by ssbledsoe

Isn't that what you're supposed to do while driving to work???

Eh, I'd still probably be checking eBay to see is BlackRose has lowered the prices on his Terrance Williams 1/1s.......

[Ray27Ray52]

But seriously someone runs out in front of your driverless car. The only option is to slam into the person or swerve into a pole at 50mph. How is the car computer designed to make this decision?

[rman112]

Originally Posted by Ray27Ray52

But seriously someone runs out in front of your driverless car. The only option is to slam into the person or swerve into a pole at 50mph. How is the car computer designed to make this decision?

[TheFrenzy]

Originally Posted by Ray27Ray52

But seriously someone runs out in front of your driverless car. The only option is to slam into the person or swerve into a pole at 50mph. How is the car computer designed to make this decision?

How would you make this decision?

It's a tough one. I'd instinctively square up on an animal, but there's a good chance I swerve for a person and put myself and anyone in my car at risk of the pole.

Then again, with advanced detection and braking superior to human reflexes, maybe the computer avoids the situation altogether?

[rman112]

Or:

[Ray27Ray52]

Originally Posted by TheFrenzy

How would you make this decision?

It's a tough one. I'd instinctively square up on an animal, but there's a good chance I swerve for a person and put myself and anyone in my car at risk of the pole.

Then again, with advanced detection and braking superior to human reflexes, maybe the computer avoids the situation altogether?

I trust the person who invented the car rather than the car itself.

[Ray27Ray52]

I'm out of this thread. I'll let Jeff Goldblum speak for me:

[tennelson55]

Originally Posted by Ray27Ray52

But seriously someone runs out in front of your driverless car. The only option is to slam into the person or swerve into a pole at 50mph. How is the car computer designed to make this decision?

The odds of this happening are very slim...
what I'm interested in is when a human is behind the wheel and what decision they'd make. I'm nearly positive the car would go into pole if programmed by the dealerships because killing a citizen who's crossing the street is much worse than having a person die due to airbag implosion or going through the windshield.

I ccan only imagine the glitchs that are going to be involved in this when it does happen. Good luck to us and we will be the test dummies. I also believe this automated system will improve driving conditions considerably

[rman112]

Originally Posted by tennelson55

The odds of this happening are very slim...
what I'm interested in is when a human is behind the wheel and what decision they'd make. I'm nearly positive the car would go into pole if programmed by the dealerships because killing a citizen who's crossing the street is much worse than having a person die due to airbag implosion or going through the windshield.

I ccan only imagine the glitchs that are going to be involved in this when it does happen. Good luck to us and we will be the test dummies. I also believe this automated system will improve driving conditions considerably

I think I know where I can find a few who are willing to try it out for us..

[Branesergen]

Originally Posted by Ray27Ray52

But seriously someone runs out in front of your driverless car. The only option is to slam into the person or swerve into a pole at 50mph. How is the car computer designed to make this decision?

That's the thing with sensors, computers and cameras - they can sense, see and react a hell of a lot quicker than a human. A sensor would detect that person and apply maneuvers faster and sooner than a human could. By the time that person got to the street the car could very well be already breaking and swerve in time to miss the person and be stopped before it got to the pole, at the very least hitting the pole at a much slower speed than a human, thus saving all lives.