I was originally going to post this video in the "For Geeks" thread, but since the topic of self-driving cars is near and dear to my heart, I thought it deserved its own thread.

So the technology is still in its infancy, but even in its present state, it already seems to be safer than human-driven cars, based on the tests so far. Every now and then you see a headline about a self-driving car being involved in an accident, and in most cases when I actually read the article I discover that the accident was caused by another driver. Although to be fair, I did read one article where the accident was the fault of the self-driving car.

I recognize that it can be unnerving to hand over the responsibility for your safety to someone or something else. I still have to repress those feelings of mind-numbing terror every time I get in an airplane, even though it's been shown that flying is safer than driving. I experience no such terror whenever I get into my car. Maybe I should

Anyway, here's the video:

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Resentment is no excuse for baldface stupidity.
-- Garrison Keillor

I really like the extremely limited elements of self driving that my Subaru has, even though it does nag me about running too close to the lane line. Sometimes you HAVE to! The only thing it does badly is anticipation of other driver's actions. When we approach someone who is stopped and waiting to turn off the road, the car slows down far more than needed-- because the other car is out of the way by the time we get there. Does that make sense? It can't understand that the other car's turn signal means it will be leaving the road shortly.

I'm very much in favor of completely self driving cars, though. I can't imagine that they'd make more mistakes than human drivers.

But that's just defensive driving, right? Maybe they'll turn quickly and efficiently, maybe they won't.

But as a human, you can see that their wheels are turned and they are slightly moving into the turn. You know it will be clear by the time you get there. You plan to just skim by them as they leave the road. Then your car freaks out, slams on the brakes and you have to override with the accelerator.

It's not something that is a deal breaker for me. Just a very minor annoyance. I'm sure they'll get that fixed eventually.

What if someone crosses the road unexpectedly, so the driver that was about to turn has to jam on his brakes?

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I suppose that could be a concern in the city. The instances I'm describing are on relatively traffic free rural roads that never have pedestrians on them. Well, almost never.

As I understand it, sudden cars appearing from the side baffle even the Tesla auto drive system. I'm not sure how the google auto cars handle such things.

I probably do this ALL the time, but just reading it sounds so unsafe to me!

I can't wait for self-driving cars. Speaking for myself, I *know* I get distracted very easily, if anyone in the car is talking... I have problems concentrating! Yes, seriously. And I have had so many close escapes that it is just by sheer luck that I am alive today.

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'You just said "your getting shorter": you've obviously been drinking too much ent-draught and not enough Prim's.' - Jude (as Merry)

So Yonatan Zunger, who I think is the only person anyone needs to follow on the net, posed this question - when is it OK for your car to kill you?

As a driver, you may make a choice to run off the road or into a tree rather than, say, run over a toddler. But you may choose your own safety over the bicyclist who just flew from around the corner (and there's one alive today only because I saw a flash of her behind some parked cars and slowed down before she careened into my path). How should the self-driving car react?

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‘There’s no greys, only white that’s got grubby. I’m surprised you don’t know that. And sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. That’s what sin is.’
‘It’s a lot more complicated than that -’
‘No. It ain’t. When people say things are a lot more complicated than that, they means they’re getting worried that they won’t like the truth. People as things, that’s where it starts.’
Terry Pratchett, Carpe Jugulum

My big hope is that self-driving cars become widely available and affordable by the time my parents - now in their late 70s though still in solid health - become too old to drive. Probably not going to happen - I fear they'll be there very soon - but still hoping.

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everything happens so much

I suspect that even when they become available, only people who are capable of driving human-driven cars will be permitted to drive them. At least until they have a long track record.

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I want a car that I can send by itself to go get maintenance.

I'm with (what I imagine to be) JRRT's position on this one. Self-driving cars are madness.

Of course, driver-driven cars are madness as well: Mr. Bliss

My girls shared this with me. Lol!

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

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Too funny!

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‘There’s no greys, only white that’s got grubby. I’m surprised you don’t know that. And sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. That’s what sin is.’
‘It’s a lot more complicated than that -’
‘No. It ain’t. When people say things are a lot more complicated than that, they means they’re getting worried that they won’t like the truth. People as things, that’s where it starts.’
Terry Pratchett, Carpe Jugulum

LOL, Lali!

I want a car that I can send by itself to go get maintenance.

Me too! Especially because I don't have another person in my household who can drive me back home when I have to leave the car behind for maintenance or repairs!

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When the night has been too lonely, and the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong,
Just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snows,
Lies the seed, that with the sun's love, in the spring becomes The Rose.

Today's xkcd is relevant:



alt text:

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"Crowdsourced steering" makes me

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everything happens so much

As expected, the cars are much less dangerous than the humans

Man attacks self-driving car in SF Mission

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‘There’s no greys, only white that’s got grubby. I’m surprised you don’t know that. And sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. That’s what sin is.’
‘It’s a lot more complicated than that -’
‘No. It ain’t. When people say things are a lot more complicated than that, they means they’re getting worried that they won’t like the truth. People as things, that’s where it starts.’
Terry Pratchett, Carpe Jugulum

the poor car. pat-pat.

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'You just said "your getting shorter": you've obviously been drinking too much ent-draught and not enough Prim's.' - Jude (as Merry)