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Whatever happened to Self Driving Cars?

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NutmegCT

NutmegCT

Great Pumpkin
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Seems the hullabaloo over self driving cars from several years ago has died down. I'm thinking that after gazillions of dollars invested in development of the cars, it "didn't quite work out". Trucks on limited access highways maybe, but crowded urban streets where most people drive, maybe not.

Wha' happen"?
 
I think the stories about the inconsistent results of the automatic braking for objects in the road, how Tesla systems aren't reliable and so on show that manufacturers are finding it much more difficult than anticipated. Personally, I wouldn't mind them for those who can't put the phone down if it was 100% or nearly that reliable but I prefer the direct experience of shifting, turning and such.
 
NutmegCT said:
Seems the hullabaloo over self driving cars from several years ago has died down. I'm thinking that after gazillions of dollars invested in development of the cars, it "didn't quite work out". Trucks on limited access highways maybe, but crowded urban streets where most people drive, maybe not.

Wha' happen"?
Click to expand...
Maybe head out to San Francisco.
www.npr.org

Driverless taxis are coming to the streets of San Francisco

Regulators gave the Cruise service approval to charge passengers for driverless rides, a first for the state. Initially, the service will be available at night in less congested parts of the city.
www.npr.org www.npr.org
 
Those things scare me more than the drivers on the roads today.
How'd you feel if you saw a gas tanker truck coming down the road
with no driver?
In Christiansburg,VA,they're doing research on self-driving cars & trucks.
I guess by the time they in wide use,they'll all be electric.
 
Electric gas tanker? Hope they don't get a short! (n)o_O
 
"Self-driving cars"? Just take a frellin' BUS!!

...or mebbe better, more rigorous driver training requirements. Instead of a license being a sixteen-year-old's "Right of Passage."
 
DrEntropy said:
"Self-driving cars"? Just take a frellin' BUS!!

...or mebbe better, more rigorous driver training requirements. Instead of a license being a sixteen-year-old's "Right of Passage."
Click to expand...
It'll be a self driving bus.
 
For some a license isn't a rite of passage anymore. Of 4 nieces from 30 to 18, only 2 have licenses and only one wanted to get it at 16. Her older cousin didn't get one until she needed to drive to work and such.
 
mikephillips said:
For some a license isn't a rite of passage anymore. Of 4 nieces from 30 to 18, only 2 have licenses and only one wanted to get it at 16. Her older cousin didn't get one until she needed to drive to work and such.
Click to expand...
Yep. For these reasons I am in favor of self-driving cars - realizing not all agree with me. In my utopia, it would be better to have a computer paying attention 100% of the time vs an infrequent and uninterested driver texting.

I realize we are a long way from there, as Tom very correctly stated. So for now this exists only on my little and imperfect utopiašŸ˜€
 
DrEntropy said:
"Self-driving cars"? Just take a frellin' BUS!!

...or mebbe better, more rigorous driver training requirements. Instead of a license being a sixteen-year-old's "Right of Passage."
Click to expand...
Agree fully! A big problem with buses and public transit is most lose money and are not popular with taxpayers.

But they can save money elsewhere - for example keeping those who canā€™t or shouldnā€™t drive off the streets. Public transit is not for everywhere / everyone, but some places make sense. Imagine what would happen to the US finance system if the NYC subway stopped operating. Or the government if the DC metro stopped working - wait that might be a good thingā€¦ but Iā€™ll stop the politics herešŸ¤£.
 
Self-driving anything where we live is out of the question, some delivery drivers, who have never been here before, can't find us using GPS! We have gotten phone calls asking how to get to our house and found out they were 5 miles away and still looking! :driving::thumbsup2:
 
Remember the Olden Days when we knew how to use paper maps?

tabula-peutingeriana-roma.jpg


All roads lead to Rome. No worry about cellular service or wi-fi dropout zones.
 
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