do we want driverless cars?

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by JRMichler

I wonder how they will program it to deal with tailgaters?

I wonder how they'll program in all the various highway codes for different countries.
Lots of rules, and a myriad of signs !

If you take just the Belgian highway code, you'll be missing out on quite a few rules - i.e. you'd better also take in court rulings that "explain" how & when a certain rule should be applied, or your driverless vehicle will have issues.

[euromodder]

Then there's the question of who'll be driving the "locomotive".
In Europe, chances are high it'll be an overworked, underpaid, fatigued eastern-European driver without the slightest clue about the local traffic rules.

[Cd]

If you think about it, this sort of thing will kill off a large percentage of the poor population that can't afford a new car with this sort of technology.

The only people that will be involved in accidents will be the poor people .

[nemo]

Driverless car for mindless drivers?

[Flakbadger]

I personally see autopilot used only on freeways and only within city limits around rush-hour. Imagine how awesome it would be to avoid the stop-and-go bull****. One out of the three lanes could be an autopilot lane, and the other two could be non-autopilot. You would have to have solid dividers to keep the hotshots from thinking they could drive with the autopilot cars and crashing into them... But the autopilot lane would be stop-and-go-free.

Eventually, when enough newer vehicles are on the road after the technology has been implemented, two of the three lanes would be reserved for autopilot, the third would be full of those with older vehicles.

/My $.02 on feasibility.

[larrybuck]

The insurance companies will love the lack of human error, and will be bias against manual cars.

I would hope that if a system is working in error, that a built in manual driver provision would still be available.

In multiple lane STREETS; do you think for the most part, manual cars would be required to stay mostly in a right lane?

If they are completely driverless vehicles (further down the line) would the person not even have to be licensed???


Many, many questions, plus the old adage: these are high tech; nothing can EVER GO WRONG, EVER GO WRONG!!!!????? Ouch! A little scary to think about.

What if a hacking teenager can disrupt traffic at will? etc................

[HydroJim]

I can't come to conclusion on if this technology would be a good or a bad thing. On one hand, it would be great for saving fuel, avoiding accidents, and reducing travel time. But, on the other hand, it may further turn us into mindless bodies and put us under more control.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by Flakbadger

But the autopilot lane would be stop-and-go-free.

That's wishful thinking.

We have yet to see how many errors the computers will make.
And they will show up.

Automated transport systems often "hang" repeatedly for causes unknown or not really understood - and that can be on predetermined tracks with little traffic and no intruders (or humans around).

[Ryland]

How many people will hop in their car for a little weekend cross country trip? every weekend.

[Flakbadger]

Originally Posted by euromodder

That's wishful thinking.

We have yet to see how many errors the computers will make.
And they will show up.

Automated transport systems often "hang" repeatedly for causes unknown or not really understood - and that can be on predetermined tracks with little traffic and no intruders (or humans around).

Fair enough, I guess I was just assuming cars could run at a consistent speed and close together, eliminating human error. Even if the traffic only drove at 20 MPH it would be much more efficient than the current stop-and-go.