Driverless cars on UK roads soon.

[Rykard]

a few things spring to mind...
tech - will it work 100% , will there be fail safes? can it be hacked
insurance - who covers it, who's liable
other driven cars - will they take advantage of the 'safety sensors' and cut in more?
cyclists/peds etc. - will it be able to discern speed direction etc. and give us the room, what about signalling to cross a lane of traffic? lane 1 to lane 2 will that be detected.
jobs - what happens to all the out of work cabbies etc.?
interesting topic -hopefully there will be intelligent debate rather than the usual ignorant diatribe we get from the polictians.

 

[Dan B]

Are people getting so lazy now that they can't be a***d to drive?. As for safety & technology, I use an £8000 Leica GPS unit in my job. It doesn't tend to work near tall buildings or trees. Tech is not infallible, it'll get hacked etc.

Youd better write to google now and tell them so. I doubt those problems will have occured to anyone there

 

[John the Monkey]

Are people getting so lazy now that they can't be a***d to drive?

Yes. Undoubtedly. People are so bored with driving that they text, tweet, check facebook, eat breakfast, shave, do their hair, chat on their mobiles &c while "driving".

That won't drive production and uptake though, the amount of money large companies will save by not having to employ human drivers (especially if Google/Acme/A.N.Other Co are liable for any mistakes the vehicle's computer makes).

 

[albion]

.....
tech - will it work 100% , will there be fail safes? can it be hacked
....

It will be a complete nightmare if other drivers spot it is self driven. Just think of all the tricks that can happen.

 

[Moon bunny]

Another thing is how will they get by on slalom type situations where parked cars only allow for one vehicle at a time. This has to be ''negotiated'' between drivers, usually by flashing ones lights. (People may remind me that the HC indicates this is not a correct use of lights but that tends to be how it's done.)

For an extra premium the "Jeremy Clarkson" accessory will be available, which will emit a loud WAYHAY! before emitting a signal which will cause the opposing vehicle to swerve off the road.

 

[GrasB]

a few things spring to mind...
tech - will it work 100% , will there be fail safes? can it be hacked - Yes, probably
insurance - who covers it, who's liable - You via an insurance company, in the same way cover other driver aids (try driving into a cone in the latest BMW 5 series loaded up with all the driving aid options)
other driven cars - will they take advantage of the 'safety sensors' and cut in more? - Depends on the car won't it, certainly on my Ultima has no provision for this so how can I use those sensors?
cyclists/peds etc. - will it be able to discern speed direction etc. and give us the room, what about signalling to cross a lane of traffic? lane 1 to lane 2 will that be detected. - It needs to do this for every potential obstacle & avoid it to be considered safe. Signalling across traffic is trivial and already done in some lane departure warning systems.
jobs - what happens to all the out of work cabbies etc.? - That's an interesting question

The big minefield is decision responsibility - the car concludes a collision WILL take place. What does it do, collide with the heaver vehicle because that will likely cause the least injury to the 3rd parts or go for the lighter vehicle which will protect you the most?

 

[summerdays]

Would you still need to sit a driving test?
Would children be able to drive one?

I'm also thinking of a friend who can't drive due to a vision problem and wondering if she would be able to drive a driverless car. In which case the numbers of cars might significantly increase.

 

[Markymark]

The google car in the US did 100,000 miles without incident, better than the human average.

It did crash once though when, guess what, a human was driving it.

These cars won't be perfect but around 10 people a friggin day die on our roads. I would bet my house that driverless cars would cut that diwn.

 

[Markymark]

The benefits of this are awesome. Massive drop in insurance. Can work/surf/phone/sleep in the car without distraction. Fancy a few beers after work? No problem. Drive to the high st, get dropped off and tell the car to park somewhere sensible, I'll send a message when I need picking up.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

That wastes fuel, puts a strain on the main engine and transmission components and robs you of acceleration and engine braking. The most efficient gear for the conditions will allow the engine to spin freely without undue strain or excessive RPM and will let you adjust your speed with the throttle.

http://regimentalrogue.com/papers/egg.htm

 

[MontyVeda]

The google car in the US did 100,000 miles without incident, better than the human average.

...

I'm sure there's thousands and thousands of humans that have driven 100,000 miles without incident, regardless of the 'average'.

I'd also like to add that drivers are being badly represented in this thread. The vast majority don't get themselves involved in accidents or scrapes... sh!t sorry... cycling forum innnit.

 

[Markymark]

I'm sure there's thousands and thousands of humans that have driven 100,000 miles without incident, regardless of the 'average'.

I'd also like to add that drivers are being badly represented in this thread. The vast majority don't get themselves involved in accidents or scrapes... sh!t sorry... cycling forum innnit.

So then we have a car that's as good as the above average drivers? I like the sound of that.

 

[Markymark]

I just hope they work a bit better than Siri on my phone or Dragon Dictate on my laptop.......

Is that because it keeps directing you to pawn shops by mistake??

 

[John the Monkey]

I'd also like to add that drivers are being badly represented in this thread. The vast majority don't get themselves involved in accidents or scrapes... sh!t sorry... cycling forum innnit.

I can only report what I see on my commute.

Not terrible, in the main, by any means, but the vast majority have a sort of indifferently bad level of skill (at least, related to interaction with other people).

If there's room for them to give you room, they do so; but where there isn't, they'll, in general, chance an overtake anyway (for example). People who will hang back, read the road, and make safe manouevres at a safe time are in the minority, as, fortunately, are those who are actively malicious.

I'm astonished when I drive on motorways (which I don't do very much) by the number of people who tailgate at high speed, distract themselves with phones, make chancy overtakes &c. Ernest Maples dictum of "If in doubt, don't" seems to either have been turned on its head ("If in doubt, do"), or people simply lack the "doubt" part of the equation.

Things could well be different at the times you drive, and in your personal experience.

Edit: Further, I think the roads have a sort of herd immunity at work. As long as enough people do the right thing, enough of the time, there's sufficient allowance for mistakes and idiocy. The amount of mobile phone use I see, apparent ignorance of the HC &c lately makes me worry that this herd immunity is being whittled away, year on year.

 

[Markymark]

Yep.......and all I want is a few prawns for my BBQ

Yeah right! Bet you'll find another use for driverless cars on the way back