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

originally posted by: Ohanka
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.

You mean like humans do every day? Every major city has multiple accidents every day from human drivers and vehicle deaths at least once a week. And about once a month on local news are stories of vehicles driving into houses or stores. So us human drivers have only proven that we fail when it comes to road responsibility. I don't see the self-driving cars doing worse than humans. In fact there have been millions of miles on the roads already driven by self-driving cars and when there are accidents they are >95% caused by human error.

So, when the first manufacturer gets sued into bankruptcy, what happens then? I'm sure lawyers are already lining up.

As for me, you'll have to pry my cold dead hands off the steering wheel.

When they outlaw driving cars, only outlaws will drive cars.

Guess I'll be an outlaw.

originally posted by: rickymouse

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 hazardous. 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.

One possible solution to that is that Driverless cars would be "linked" in the near vicinity. Car A in front would slip, informing the cars behind it to adjust speed ect. Not foolproof obviously, but I'm sure they have been looking at making them safe as can be.

No use fighting it, it's the Tidal Wave of the Future. Automation replacing Humans with Jobs is just going to keep getting bigger. Couple that with the destruction of the actual Bricks and Mortar stores Model we are used to and it starts to look bleak. Take even Tesla's factory, how many Robots to Humans are there in the plant?

No one is addressing the loss of income to the average person because of automation. More and more Jobs will go away. It will be the biggest Civil Disruption going forward. Not enough jobs to support the Average human in the industrialized world for starters, then the rest of the world.

Universal income seems like the only solution offered so far by anyone. Sounds great in practice, free money. How that actually plays out in reality on a Macro scale seems less clear to me. Where will the money come from? Who and what will determine each persons share of Universal Income? Many questions. Are there alternatives to Universal Income that will work for the average human?

originally posted by: cynicalheathen
So, when the first manufacturer gets sued into bankruptcy, what happens then? I'm sure lawyers are already lining up.

As for me, you'll have to pry my cold dead hands off the steering wheel.

When they outlaw driving cars, only outlaws will drive cars.

Guess I'll be an outlaw.

Then the Robocops will eliminate the threat. Simple.

How long before the first cab driver interests sabotage these aurinomous vehicles?

Those million dolar NYC cab medallions might soon be worthless. With billions on the line, they won't go down without a fight.

a reply to: pavil

I guess even the mechanics that maintain and fix driverless cars will be robots.

Maybe humans will maintain the robot mechanics.

originally posted by: ericendtimes
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?

Ummm...even more interestingly...I can't wait until a whole highways worth of these are...hacked...

I can see the headlines now..."75 clone cars break loose from the herd and careen wildly down the pinball shoot at 300 miles per hour"..."Talk about rush hour Jim"..."Mach two demolition derby gives a whole new meaning to fender bender" ..."In other news"..."The liquefied remains of the former inhabitants...while misidentified as MrMrspet were thankfully poured into vials and started a new trend in burial service"...totally tubular...

"Tune in tomorrow when FoChevCo announces it's wash and wear interiors"...next...




YouSir

a reply to: YouSir

An updated version of an old David Carridean movie "Death race 2,000".Have not seen that in years.Have to go searching now for tonight.

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...

That is really interesting. Will we even be allowed to own a private car? Simply set a schedule and rent a car for the amount of time it takes to get you to work and another allocation of time for the return trip. It will simply drive itself to pick you up and drop you off.

Would that decimate the number of cars needed for our population? My car sits idle for most of the time.

I would hate to lose ownership of my vehicle though.

This was the plan all along, to control the consumer and track him.

Self-driving cars: from 2020 you will become a permanent backseat driver from 2015 article
www.theguardian.com...

10 million self-driving cars will be on the road by 2020 - also from 2015 Business Insider
www.businessinsider.com...

10 Million Self-Driving Cars Will Hit The Road By 2020 -- Here's How To Profit Forbes Mag.
www.forbes.com...

While it took approximately 50 years for electricity to be adopted by 60% of US households, it took cell phones only about 10 years and, though it’s not shown on the chart, smartphones only about five years to reach the same penetration.

originally posted by: ClovenSky

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...

That is really interesting. Will we even be allowed to own a private car? Simply set a schedule and rent a car for the amount of time it takes to get you to work and another allocation of time for the return trip. It will simply drive itself to pick you up and drop you off.

Would that decimate the number of cars needed for our population? My car sits idle for most of the time.

I would hate to lose ownership of my vehicle though.

I expect that will be the main model in metro areas. But to leave town for say a camping trip, boating, hiking, go to the beach, etc. there will need to also be a longer term rental. I suppose just like rental car companies work today.

I doubt that we will get to a point where you are not allowed to drive your own car if you want to. But the insurance may be costly if you choose to drive vs. letting the car do it. And as said earlier, the fines for breaking a traffic law will most likely be extreme. So maybe in the end there will be enough negative incentives that people will just agree to let the car drive.

The problem with a push for a quicker rollout though is that some companies like to let the public do their beta testing for them (e.g. - Microsoft). The recent Tesla incidents seem to be in this category.

Something else the automakers can tag thousands on to the price of new cars with, lovely.
How many accidents will these cause and what rate will be considered "acceptable" ?

originally posted by: Asktheanimals
How many accidents will these cause and what rate will be considered "acceptable" ?

How about 1/100 of the accidents due to humans? That is an easy target and already surpassed by self-driving technology.

originally posted by: ClovenSky

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...

That is really interesting. Will we even be allowed to own a private car? Simply set a schedule and rent a car for the amount of time it takes to get you to work and another allocation of time for the return trip. It will simply drive itself to pick you up and drop you off.

Would that decimate the number of cars needed for our population? My car sits idle for most of the time.

I would hate to lose ownership of my vehicle though.

You won't, if you can afford it. In the future everything is so expensive only really rich people will own land, homes and vehicles.

They are doing their best to reduce everyone to paying rent on everything they now 'own'.

This is the very best scenario for the greedy elite, everyone is an indentured servant, indebted to them.

Look at history in Europe. See the castle on the hill surrounded by the town. Serfdom,, fiefdom, all peasants, subject to the king.

I can understand the benefit of a self driving car - but why remove human controls? That decision would seem to support the more negative opinions about why this technology is progressing.

a reply to: YouSir
Maximum Overdrive!

a reply to: loam

If politicians unanimously approve anything that has to do with the companies or regulations then it means we the people are going to get screwed and they are going to be paid by the industry who will be making the windfall profits.

originally posted by: TerryMcGuire
a reply to: loam

The House measure, the first significant federal legislation aimed at speeding self-driving cars to market,

Yep. Once again our legislators pave the way for corporations to push a new product onto the market.

allow automakers to obtain exemptions to deploy up to 25,000 vehicles without meeting existing auto safety standards in the first year.

Pardon my French, but what the ae[o5ri6upfw4eh.kjgdtr is that. Exemptions from meeting existing auto safety standards???????? For self driving cars??????????????????

Those cars with automated drivers for research purposes will be exempt from standards like having airbags in the drivers seat (no driver), crumple proof drivers door etc...

In France, they have smart cars which are small electric cars which can do 60 miles to a charge. They don't go over 40 miles/hour, so can't go on the freeways but are good enough to drive down to the supermarket, visit friends, church and city offices.

HOW else are they going to finish off" Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars" ?
By limiting MOVEMENT.

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.

I was thinking the same thing.

technically/legally we would no longer need insurance because we aren`t driving the vehicle so if a vehicle does crash,everyone involved should sue the manufacturer since their product was defective and caused personal injury.

I`m sure the laws will be changed to protect the rich corporations from financial responsibility for their defective self driving cars that cause accidents and to force us to continue buying auto insurance for vehicles which we aren`t even operating,we are just passengers in a self driving vehicle not vehicle operators.
technically/legally it should be the manufacturers who have to buy auto insurance for every self driving vehicle that they sell, but like I said the laws WILL be changed to protect the corporate elite and screw the consumers.