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Old 05-17-2015, 12:06 PM   #70 (permalink)
Hersbird
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I doubt there is an incentive for the human drivers to take the blame for accidents. First this is a testing phase, they record with black boxes that monitor everything. They know what happened because everything is recorded both video and with many sensors. Doesn't matter what the human says, the truth will be known. The human also has a disincentive to say it was their fault, they will probably lose their job driving if they caused the accident. I drive for a living every day for the last 16 years and have never had even the most minor collision no matter the fault. More likely it was other drivers on the road, not the "drivers" of the automated cars. Also this is early testing, I wouldn't expect it to be perfect at this stage. The question is it better then a typical driver on the road yet and I would guess yes. Then again I wouldn't let a typical driver drive me around, so it needs to be better.
I also don't get how you think this somehow limits freedom. I agree it shouldn't be mandatory, but they could make provisions to enable it especially on the freeways with a dedicated lane just like they do now for carpools. To me it expands freedoms, the freedom to do something else with your 8 hours in a car on a trip, or maybe your 1 hour each way commute everyday. The alternative is less freedom with relying on the schedules and availability of public transportation. That is what I like about this most, it is like infinitely scaleable public transportation financed 100% by the users.
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