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I hate that argument; effectively it boils down to "it is hard, so why try anything at all?" Even if it took thirty years and even if it was only ten percent e

I hate that argument; effectively it boils down to "it is hard, so why try anything at all?" Even if it took thirty years and even if it was only ten percent effective, what is the negatives to this plan? One more minor skill to driving? One more bullet in the driving code?

Houshalter 10y ago
Because by the time this plan actually works, humans won't even be driving cars anymore. And as I said I would be very surprised if it actually did work, given how quickly people lose the habits they are taught in driver's ed (how many people keep 4 seconds of distance, wear their seatbelt, never speed, adjust their mirrors correctly, look both ways for trains, etc.)
- UnoriginalGuy 10y ago
  > Because by the time this plan actually works, humans won't even be driving cars anymore. They'll still be opening doors and riding bikes however. > how many people keep 4 seconds of distance, wear their seatbelt, never speed, adjust their mirrors correctly, look both ways for trains, etc. Most people? Well except for the speed one. But the vast majority of people wear their seatbelts, give a safe travelling distance (although people are terrible at judging it), and are careful at railroad crossings.
  - piotrkaminski 10y ago
    > They'll still be opening doors and riding bikes however. Will they? I'd expect an autonomous car's doors to be under its control unless the passenger declares an emergency (which would be a Big Deal, call the police, etc.). Also, once autonomous cars are plentiful and transportation is dirt cheap, how many people will still be riding bikes in congested areas?
    - nixos 10y ago
      >Also, once autonomous cars are plentiful and transportation is dirt cheap Why do you think it's going to be dirt cheap? I expect it's going to be half of an Uber ride, but not much less.
      - piotrkaminski 10y ago
        I expect that cities will heavily subsidize it, to bring it down to about the level of public transport (but far more convenient). I'll admit it's just guessing at a very nebulous future, though.
      - Houshalter 10y ago
        Because the main cost of an uber is the driver's wage, so I think it could be much less than half. Then if you share the car with multiple riders per trip, that could lower the cost much further (at the expense of slightly longer trips.)
- hx87 10y ago
  Even if the benefits are small, the costs are...what, exactly?
stephenr 10y ago
It's the exact reason the US still doesn't use the metric system. The Homer Simpson of excuses, if you will: "Trying is the first step to failure"

Houshalter 10y ago

Because by the time this plan actually works, humans won't even be driving cars anymore. And as I said I would be very surprised if it actually did work, given how quickly people lose the habits they are taught in driver's ed (how many people keep 4 seconds of distance, wear their seatbelt, never speed, adjust their mirrors correctly, look both ways for trains, etc.)

UnoriginalGuy 10y ago
> Because by the time this plan actually works, humans won't even be driving cars anymore. They'll still be opening doors and riding bikes however. > how many people keep 4 seconds of distance, wear their seatbelt, never speed, adjust their mirrors correctly, look both ways for trains, etc. Most people? Well except for the speed one. But the vast majority of people wear their seatbelts, give a safe travelling distance (although people are terrible at judging it), and are careful at railroad crossings.
- piotrkaminski 10y ago
  > They'll still be opening doors and riding bikes however. Will they? I'd expect an autonomous car's doors to be under its control unless the passenger declares an emergency (which would be a Big Deal, call the police, etc.). Also, once autonomous cars are plentiful and transportation is dirt cheap, how many people will still be riding bikes in congested areas?
  - nixos 10y ago
    >Also, once autonomous cars are plentiful and transportation is dirt cheap Why do you think it's going to be dirt cheap? I expect it's going to be half of an Uber ride, but not much less.
    - piotrkaminski 10y ago
      I expect that cities will heavily subsidize it, to bring it down to about the level of public transport (but far more convenient). I'll admit it's just guessing at a very nebulous future, though.
    - Houshalter 10y ago
      Because the main cost of an uber is the driver's wage, so I think it could be much less than half. Then if you share the car with multiple riders per trip, that could lower the cost much further (at the expense of slightly longer trips.)
hx87 10y ago
Even if the benefits are small, the costs are...what, exactly?

stephenr 10y ago

It's the exact reason the US still doesn't use the metric system. The Homer Simpson of excuses, if you will: "Trying is the first step to failure"