4 ms·

"Shabby roadways"? If there was ever a case of "first world problems", this is it. Frankly, US roadways are really good. I was amazed by the amount of signage

"Shabby roadways"? If there was ever a case of "first world problems", this is it. Frankly, US roadways are really good. I was amazed by the amount of signage present, not to mention the pavement itself. Yes there are imperfections. But when was the last time you tore apart your car's axle due to inability to avoid the 20th gaping hole you ran across in just one way of your commute? You want shabby roads? Go to third world countries. That's the real test for self-driving cars.

fndjdh 11y ago
https://xkcd.com/1232/ https://xkcd.com/1232/ You can replace "exploring other planets" with poor roadways, wealth inequality, or whatever else you would like.
trhway 11y ago
anybody can just youtube for "russian road accidents" and imagine a self-driving car in those situations. Wrt. responsibility/insurance - when it comes to post-accident "discussion" would self-driving car come with a walking robot who can use baseball bat and fence using metal wheel wrench? I'd venture to guess that deluxe version which would use handgun instead of the bat would find a lot of customers among Chechens living in Moscow.
Rangi42 11y ago
Do the third-world countries you're thinking of enforce traffic laws? Because I expect that an autonomous car could safely navigate an unmarked road if it were just paying attention to its destination and avoiding obstacles, not obeying detailed regulations.
- outworlder 11y ago
  Expect that they don't. Or if they do, not consistently.
capote 11y ago
It's pointless to compare the United States with third world countries. You should be holding it to much higher standards. I myself compare the United States with our peers in Western Europe, Japan, Korea, etc. In this scope, our roadways are actually kind of sad, especially when you factor in how much we spend on them and double-especially when you factor in that we don't have solid railroads. Our highways are generally paved really thin (compare to: German highways) and they end up cracking and breaking all the time. I've never driven between two cities on an Interstate highway without being slowed down by construction work. Also, just from day to day observation: I live in Chicago and everywhere I walk, the streets look disastrous. They're broken apart, and some of them are half-repaired with concrete chunks sticking out (check out LaSalle and Randolph)--on some streets it's a miracle to me some cars get through without a flat tire. We are a tremendously successful and advanced country. There is clearly a very big problem with the state of our roads.
- gwright 11y ago
  > double-especially when you factor in that we don't have solid railroads I think you mean 'passenger railroads'. The US freight railroad is world-class. Lots of spurious debate about railroads in the US comes from confusing the pros and cons of a freight network (which we have) with the pros and cons of a high-speed passenger network (which we don't have). The benefits of a continent-sized high-speed rail network in a continent with low population density tends to be over-emphasized. http://business.time.com/2012/07/09/us-freight-railroads/ http://business.time.com/2012/07/09/us-freight-railroads/
  - capote 11y ago
    That is indeed what I meant. As for benefits/needs of a high speed passenger network--all I have to say is that my current options for going Chicago - New York which I do frequently are: 1. garbage airlines that are consolidating more and more and increasing their prices for no apparent reason, 2. broken roads that are constantly being repaired, and 3. Amtrak That said, it's clear to me that a high speed rail connection (for example Chicago - NY at ~200mph) would be a no brainer. I'd even pay more than I pay American Airlines for the route.
cylinder 11y ago
You want shabby roads? Go to New York City.
- jdavis703 11y ago
  Or up state New York. I was driving on one limited-access highway where there were so many potholes the speed limit was 35 M.P.H. Usually I would not adhere to such a ridiculous speed on a highway, but in this case it felt prudent to actually go slower than that.
  - fluxquanta 11y ago
    I'm an upstate (real upstate, north of Syracuse) resident. People hear "New York" and think "ooh, city!" but there are swathes of very rural, very poor areas that can barely keep up with basic maintenance. Case in point, I live in the "most fiscally stressed municipality in the state"[0]. Add to that our harsh winters and you end up with roads that are more gravel than pavement after a few years of erosion. I can't see self-driving cars ever working here as they're currently designed. [0] http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/31231/20160310/how-did-potsdam-become-the-most-fiscally-stressed-village-in-the-state http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/31231/2016...
maxxxxx 11y ago
A self-driving car in Bombay traffic would be a monumental achievement!

fndjdh 11y ago

https://xkcd.com/1232/ https://xkcd.com/1232/ You can replace "exploring other planets" with poor roadways, wealth inequality, or whatever else you would like.

trhway 11y ago

anybody can just youtube for "russian road accidents" and imagine a self-driving car in those situations. Wrt. responsibility/insurance - when it comes to post-accident "discussion" would self-driving car come with a walking robot who can use baseball bat and fence using metal wheel wrench? I'd venture to guess that deluxe version which would use handgun instead of the bat would find a lot of customers among Chechens living in Moscow.

Rangi42 11y ago

Do the third-world countries you're thinking of enforce traffic laws? Because I expect that an autonomous car could safely navigate an unmarked road if it were just paying attention to its destination and avoiding obstacles, not obeying detailed regulations.

outworlder 11y ago
Expect that they don't. Or if they do, not consistently.

capote 11y ago

It's pointless to compare the United States with third world countries. You should be holding it to much higher standards. I myself compare the United States with our peers in Western Europe, Japan, Korea, etc. In this scope, our roadways are actually kind of sad, especially when you factor in how much we spend on them and double-especially when you factor in that we don't have solid railroads. Our highways are generally paved really thin (compare to: German highways) and they end up cracking and breaking all the time. I've never driven between two cities on an Interstate highway without being slowed down by construction work. Also, just from day to day observation: I live in Chicago and everywhere I walk, the streets look disastrous. They're broken apart, and some of them are half-repaired with concrete chunks sticking out (check out LaSalle and Randolph)--on some streets it's a miracle to me some cars get through without a flat tire. We are a tremendously successful and advanced country. There is clearly a very big problem with the state of our roads.

gwright 11y ago
> double-especially when you factor in that we don't have solid railroads I think you mean 'passenger railroads'. The US freight railroad is world-class. Lots of spurious debate about railroads in the US comes from confusing the pros and cons of a freight network (which we have) with the pros and cons of a high-speed passenger network (which we don't have). The benefits of a continent-sized high-speed rail network in a continent with low population density tends to be over-emphasized. http://business.time.com/2012/07/09/us-freight-railroads/ http://business.time.com/2012/07/09/us-freight-railroads/
- capote 11y ago
  That is indeed what I meant. As for benefits/needs of a high speed passenger network--all I have to say is that my current options for going Chicago - New York which I do frequently are: 1. garbage airlines that are consolidating more and more and increasing their prices for no apparent reason, 2. broken roads that are constantly being repaired, and 3. Amtrak That said, it's clear to me that a high speed rail connection (for example Chicago - NY at ~200mph) would be a no brainer. I'd even pay more than I pay American Airlines for the route.

cylinder 11y ago

You want shabby roads? Go to New York City.

jdavis703 11y ago
Or up state New York. I was driving on one limited-access highway where there were so many potholes the speed limit was 35 M.P.H. Usually I would not adhere to such a ridiculous speed on a highway, but in this case it felt prudent to actually go slower than that.
- fluxquanta 11y ago
  I'm an upstate (real upstate, north of Syracuse) resident. People hear "New York" and think "ooh, city!" but there are swathes of very rural, very poor areas that can barely keep up with basic maintenance. Case in point, I live in the "most fiscally stressed municipality in the state"[0]. Add to that our harsh winters and you end up with roads that are more gravel than pavement after a few years of erosion. I can't see self-driving cars ever working here as they're currently designed. [0] http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/31231/20160310/how-did-potsdam-become-the-most-fiscally-stressed-village-in-the-state http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/31231/2016...

maxxxxx 11y ago

A self-driving car in Bombay traffic would be a monumental achievement!