U.S. House unanimously approves sweeping self-driving car measure

a reply to: HappyFisherman

Great point.Would the "smart" car be "dumb" enough to try and get away.The child's kitty cat get's run over,will car stop or just keep going on it's way?

originally posted by: dothedew
Of course they had to stop the states from banning self driving cars....

... Can you imagine the amount of money that states (such as Michigan) will lose in drunk driving fines, driver responsibility fees, etc? Hell, even speeding tickets and such.... I can imagine just about every state having issue with this, and committing to some sort of legal action..... They will probably claim it interferes with safety or some garbage, when we all know it'll come down to revenue generation

Great point! I hadn't thought of the loss of revenue from driving violations. I expect fines will sky rocket for those who still drive themselves but break the law.

It seems to me that over the past 20 years or so there is a lot more people willing to run red lights, roll through stop signs, weaving through lanes while speeding, tailgating at 65mph, etc. While there will be some safety glitches to work out in the early years of self-driving vehicles, in the end everyone will be a lot safer without all of those human idiots on the roads causing accidents. Like 1000x safer.

I just can't see self driving cars being safe up here. I don't think they would work in the snow and ice we have. You have to go around plowing ridges all the time in the winter. Sometimes it looks nice yet it is pure ice and black ice means you need to stay off the road or be extra cautious, you can see the black spots ahead most times and compensate if you are aware. People who are preoccupied or just not used to them get in accidents. My wife goes faster on black ice than I do. Some day one of those spots will send her in the ditch.

a reply to: intrptr

Is the reason for a "driver" in the seat of a driver less vehicle in cal to prevent an accident if He/She see's one oncoming? Is that their job? Please forgive,I am ignorant to this subject.

a reply to: rickymouse

Know how you feel.My wife travels 2 hours from Vermont to New Hampshire for work and 2 hours home every day.So the winter road conditions are of big concern.

originally posted by: rickymouse
I just can't see self driving cars being safe up here. I don't think they would work in the snow and ice we have. You have to go around plowing ridges all the time in the winter. Sometimes it looks nice yet it is pure ice and black ice means you need to stay off the road or be extra cautious, you can see the black spots ahead most times and compensate if you are aware. People who are preoccupied or just not used to them get in accidents. My wife goes faster on black ice than I do. Some day one of those spots will send her in the ditch.

Yea, good point. In essence, most people will drive according to road/weather conditions and the self-driving vehicles would have to do the same. It would be fairly easy to have the speed limit change day to day based on conditions. A radio broadcast could inform the cars what the maximum speed should be, maybe even broken down by road/area. The SD cars also can detect any slipping of the tires within microseconds and respond accordingly. But it will take more years of algorithm refinement in areas with rough weather.

originally posted by: ericendtimes
a reply to: intrptr

Is the reason for a "driver" in the seat of a driver less vehicle in cal to prevent an accident if He/She see's one oncoming? Is that their job? Please forgive,I am ignorant to this subject.

Yes, for a wile here they were going full driverless, but two accidents changed that. Now, when I see the cars there are human 'occupants'... for now.

LA Times

Lyft and Uber will save a lot of money by not having to pay drivers.

originally posted by: carewemust
Lyft and Uber will save a lot of money by not having to pay drivers.

Every car will become a driverless taxi, uber, carpool.

Everyone will be hailing bots...

originally posted by: intrptr

originally posted by: carewemust
Lyft and Uber will save a lot of money by not having to pay drivers.

Every car will become a driverless taxi, uber, carpool.

Everyone will be hailing bots...

When they can move at 200mph / 1,000 feet above ground (like in Star Wars) that will be way cool.

originally posted by: bluesjr

originally posted by: rickymouse
I just can't see self driving cars being safe up here. I don't think they would work in the snow and ice we have. You have to go around plowing ridges all the time in the winter. Sometimes it looks nice yet it is pure ice and black ice means you need to stay off the road or be extra cautious, you can see the black spots ahead most times and compensate if you are aware. People who are preoccupied or just not used to them get in accidents. My wife goes faster on black ice than I do. Some day one of those spots will send her in the ditch.

Yea, good point. In essence, most people will drive according to road/weather conditions and the self-driving vehicles would have to do the same. It would be fairly easy to have the speed limit change day to day based on conditions. A radio broadcast could inform the cars what the maximum speed should be, maybe even broken down by road/area. The SD cars also can detect any slipping of the tires within microseconds and respond accordingly. But it will take more years of algorithm refinement in areas with rough weather.

Once the tires start to slip on black ice, it is sometimes too late. You are off into the snowbank if you even let up on the gas peddle. You have to pay attention to the road. You have to pay attention to the banks, if they look glazed at all or if it seems to be foggy frosty air, then the road could be hazzardous. It is even hard for me to explain how you can tell, sometimes you feel like your driving a snowmobile when switching lanes, no tire slip at all.

originally posted by: ericendtimes
a reply to: loam

I have wondered who would be at fault if there was an accident between two such vehicles? Or if one malfunctions and hits a pedestrian on a crosswalk.

Ummm...precisely...would it be the manufacturers fault...or the fault of the it guy that programmed the automaton...err...autonomous automaton with the squishy human shaped organs inhabiting the inside...



YouSir

originally posted by: NerdGoddess
Cool let's do it! Yeah new things can be dangerous, but there's always those who will willingly or forcefully make sacrifices for the future and for our continued hunger for knowledge and power of our own universe.

I can see a lot of benefits to self driving cars. Certainly some draw backs as well but this is exciting none the less.

Brave New World indeed.

Yeah lets just put a few more people out on the streets without a home or a job.

originally posted by: carewemust

originally posted by: intrptr

originally posted by: carewemust
Lyft and Uber will save a lot of money by not having to pay drivers.

Every car will become a driverless taxi, uber, carpool.

Everyone will be hailing bots...

When they can move at 200mph / 1,000 feet above ground (like in Star Wars) that will be way cool.

Hollywood...

Dream on... Blade Runner (1980), film set in 2019--
More realistic, Fifth Element, Taxi Chase--
In I, Robot the solution was underground tunnels, auto pilot... mostly--

a reply to: YouSir

Star for you sir.Beer coming out my nose.I know big waste.So what happens when the low income dude that has a used one of these rigs get's into a crash with a new higher priced model? will it become the more expensive "hover craft"wins the law suit?

Without safety features? So they are putting our lives at risk?

Protecting American jobs by eliminating 12 million of them.

Off to a great start then.

I knew I should have become an attorney. The lawsuits and courts are going to be swamped with self driving vehicles involved in accidents.

Or become a hacker and drive the driverless beer trucks over to my house....party!!

or better yet invest in the tech systems/cameras/ involved in this ultimate boondoggle. Should be very profitable until congress shuts it down because some politico's family got wiped out by a truck delivering bricks to build trumps wall....

I wonder how the teamster union will respond to this BS?

originally posted by: Tempter
Without safety features? So they are putting our lives at risk?

That was the first thing to jump out at me, a waiver for automotive safety features...

WTF...I cannot buy a car in europe and bring it to the states without having to add in all that weight our mandated safety features add, yet we are going to let a computer drive a car with people in it without the mandated safety features.

I so need to become a hermit.

You know seeing as the house unanimously voted for this, and also voted to waive the existing safety regulations...

Will they unanimously accept responsibility when these unproven things start running people over, ramming each other on the road, drive through school yards, shopping malls and all that good stuff? I doubt it.