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Of course a self driving car should be able to speed. My understanding is that speed limits are set by measuring the speed people are driving on the road and th

Of course a self driving car should be able to speed. My understanding is that speed limits are set by measuring the speed people are driving on the road and then determining a speed at which roughly 15% of the drivers are exceeding that limit. There is an expectation that people will speed, but by setting the speed limit a little bit lower almost all traffic will fall under safe bounds. Driving 38 in a 35 zone is completely reasonable. I probably would have been going 45 - 50 if the road was empty. If self driving cars aren't allowed to speed, they're going to be a nightmare for passengers and other drivers. Obviously different people have different feelings about the issue of speeding, but personally I lose my mind when I get an Uber driver that's driving to slow. Try and think about what it would be like if a computer followed every traffic restriction to the letter of the law rather than driving like an actual human. People will vote me down because the idea of a speeding self driving car sounds scary, but I personally can't wait until the software has advanced to the state that it can confidently drive 200 mph on the 5 from LA to the Bay Area. (Presumably they'd have to build a much bigger better 5, with special lanes dedicated to autonomous vehicles)

YeGoblynQueenne 9y ago
>> People will vote me down because the idea of a speeding self driving car sounds scary Or because they don't think that speed limits are set so that everyone can keep under them- but so that keeping under them means you're driving safely.
naveen99 9y ago
What speed would you drive if there was no speed limit ?
- franciscop 9y ago
  What speed would you drive? Would you take close corners at 120km/h? People (on average) drive at the speed their actually very well tuned survival instinct tells them to.
  - in_cahoots 9y ago
    I don’t think that’s true at all (though I only have my own experience to go off of). I tend to use the speed limit as a point of reference, and then drive a little above it. Prior experience has told me that going the speed limit plus some percentage ‘feels’ safe. If there were no speed limit I’d actually have to pay more attention to the road and surrounding environment to determine what a safe speed is. Right now most people’s ‘survival instinct’ is basically speed limit + some delta in clear conditions. That delta may change from driver to driver, but in general everyone drives within 10-20% of the speed limit. As a fun thought experiment, imagine what would happen if your residential speed limit were raised from 25mph to 70mph. People may not hit the 70mph limit, but I can almost guarantee that the average speed would increase significantly, perhaps even dangerously in some cases. I don’t have much faith in people’s ability to judge space and speed accurately, particularly when they aren’t used to doing so. And this includes myself.
    - helthanatos 9y ago
      I would like the speed limit on my interstates and highways to go up to 70(they're all straight. 55 is just the only speed limit around here). Driving at 65-70 feels safe in normal conditions. Driving above 70 feels a bit too fast. Speed limits should be more variable depending upon car size and braking power though. I hate having to fear that I might be pulled over for going a bit above the speed limit when there are so many more threats than just speed. I don't believe speed limits should be anything more than a suggestion with dangerous driving being the focus.
      - ryandrake 9y ago
        On most roads around where I live, if you are driving exactly the speed limit, you are a slow moving obstacle that is probably more of a danger due to the extreme speed differential with the other drivers who are 10-20 MPH over the limit. I’d hope self driving cars were programmed to deal safely within the bounds of reality. If there is nobody else on the road, sure drive the speed limit. If cars are whizzing past you on all sides you’re a hazard even if you’re obeying the law.
      - 9y ago
- omarforgotpwd 9y ago
  I would say they should be able to drive up to 15% higher than the speed limit at their discretion. So in a 35 zone they could go up to 40. But that's not a question for me to answer.I just know that the answer isn't that they follow the letter of the law all the time.
- rootusrootus 9y ago
  Prevailing traffic plus 10-15 mph. Or 135-ish with good conditions and no other cars. My days of real speed runs are behind me, and 135 is fast enough to keep things interesting and make good time without getting too crazy.
- rootlocus 9y ago
  In Europe there are global definitions for speed limits. With a few notable exceptions, there's no such thing as "no speed limit".
danso 9y ago
Talking about a future in which AVs are allowed to go as fast as physically possible seems irrelevant when we're talking about current policy and infrastructure, in which AVs have to live in a world with majority manually-operated vehicles, driven by people who do speed, but are also punished for going over the speed limit.
- omarforgotpwd 9y ago
  An autonomous vehicle should also be pulled over and ticketed for operating unsafely. At this point in time the driver is still liable for the actions of the car and is required to monitor the autonomous system and takeover if necessary. However like a human it should have some discretion in interpreting the law. Should it go 120 in a 60 zone... definitely not but if it thinks it can do 38 in a 35? That sounds fine.
ams6110 9y ago
They should not be able to speed arbitrarily, but it seems sensible that they would match the prevailing traffic speed. One car carefully observing a 30mph limit creates a hazard when everyone else is going 35-40.
- QasimK 9y ago
  Of course everyone else going at 35-40 are a hazard themselves in the first place.
- nextlevelwizard 9y ago
  Going at speed limit NEVER creates a hazard. It is always the drivers going over or under it. I am not getting a speeding ticket for peer pressure. If you want to speed then you can pass me at your own risk.
  - cthalupa 9y ago
    >Going at speed limit NEVER creates a hazard. It is always the drivers going over or under it. Please be in the right lane if you are going slower than the flow of traffic. Regardless of whether or not you feel the people speeding are ultimately at fault, if everyone is speeding, it is a more dangerous to have a car that is going a dissimilar speed than it is for you to be speeding. Keeping right is a small mitigating factor.
  - Zanni 9y ago
    Going the speed limit OFTEN creates a hazard. Technically speeding is not "exceeding the speed limit" but "driving too fast for conditions." In a torrential downpour with slick roads and poor visibility, the legal speed limit may easily be too fast for conditions, and you can be ticketed--to pick one scenario that refutes your "NEVER." And driving the speed limit in the passing lane creates an obstacle to faster traffic trying to get by, a frustration and a hazard. There was a video of some idiot "pranksters" with your exact attitude that created a rolling roadblock on a freeway by coordinating five cars to drive abreast at the exact speed limit, proving ... something. They were ticketed for hazardous driving. cthalupa is correct, though more diplomatic than I. It's more hazardous to be out of step with the surrounding traffic flow than it is to "speed."
freddie_mercury 9y ago
> My understanding is that speed limits are set by measuring the speed people are driving on the road and then determining a speed at which roughly 15% of the drivers are exceeding that limit. That is not how all speed limits are set; it just one possible technique: https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/speedmgt/ref_mats/fhwasa12004/ https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/speedmgt/ref_mats/fhwasa12004/
- omarforgotpwd 9y ago
  Thanks for clarifying, and the link! Actually a really interesting read.
LeifCarrotson 9y ago
It's one thing to state that it's common and simple to, say, overclock a CPU, even if the processor specs have a speed a few percent lower. Typical headroom, operator requirements, and a decent cooler suggest that everyone could probably bump clock speeds by a few percent without issue. But you wouldn't expect a plane crash investigation to mention offhand that the flight computers were mildly overclocked. A test drive of a new self-driving car should not speed, even if it's common or normal.

YeGoblynQueenne 9y ago

>> People will vote me down because the idea of a speeding self driving car sounds scary Or because they don't think that speed limits are set so that everyone can keep under them- but so that keeping under them means you're driving safely.

naveen99 9y ago

What speed would you drive if there was no speed limit ?

franciscop 9y ago
What speed would you drive? Would you take close corners at 120km/h? People (on average) drive at the speed their actually very well tuned survival instinct tells them to.
- in_cahoots 9y ago
  I don’t think that’s true at all (though I only have my own experience to go off of). I tend to use the speed limit as a point of reference, and then drive a little above it. Prior experience has told me that going the speed limit plus some percentage ‘feels’ safe. If there were no speed limit I’d actually have to pay more attention to the road and surrounding environment to determine what a safe speed is. Right now most people’s ‘survival instinct’ is basically speed limit + some delta in clear conditions. That delta may change from driver to driver, but in general everyone drives within 10-20% of the speed limit. As a fun thought experiment, imagine what would happen if your residential speed limit were raised from 25mph to 70mph. People may not hit the 70mph limit, but I can almost guarantee that the average speed would increase significantly, perhaps even dangerously in some cases. I don’t have much faith in people’s ability to judge space and speed accurately, particularly when they aren’t used to doing so. And this includes myself.
  - helthanatos 9y ago
    I would like the speed limit on my interstates and highways to go up to 70(they're all straight. 55 is just the only speed limit around here). Driving at 65-70 feels safe in normal conditions. Driving above 70 feels a bit too fast. Speed limits should be more variable depending upon car size and braking power though. I hate having to fear that I might be pulled over for going a bit above the speed limit when there are so many more threats than just speed. I don't believe speed limits should be anything more than a suggestion with dangerous driving being the focus.
    - ryandrake 9y ago
      On most roads around where I live, if you are driving exactly the speed limit, you are a slow moving obstacle that is probably more of a danger due to the extreme speed differential with the other drivers who are 10-20 MPH over the limit. I’d hope self driving cars were programmed to deal safely within the bounds of reality. If there is nobody else on the road, sure drive the speed limit. If cars are whizzing past you on all sides you’re a hazard even if you’re obeying the law.
    - 9y ago
omarforgotpwd 9y ago
I would say they should be able to drive up to 15% higher than the speed limit at their discretion. So in a 35 zone they could go up to 40. But that's not a question for me to answer.I just know that the answer isn't that they follow the letter of the law all the time.
rootusrootus 9y ago
Prevailing traffic plus 10-15 mph. Or 135-ish with good conditions and no other cars. My days of real speed runs are behind me, and 135 is fast enough to keep things interesting and make good time without getting too crazy.
rootlocus 9y ago
In Europe there are global definitions for speed limits. With a few notable exceptions, there's no such thing as "no speed limit".

danso 9y ago

Talking about a future in which AVs are allowed to go as fast as physically possible seems irrelevant when we're talking about current policy and infrastructure, in which AVs have to live in a world with majority manually-operated vehicles, driven by people who do speed, but are also punished for going over the speed limit.

omarforgotpwd 9y ago
An autonomous vehicle should also be pulled over and ticketed for operating unsafely. At this point in time the driver is still liable for the actions of the car and is required to monitor the autonomous system and takeover if necessary. However like a human it should have some discretion in interpreting the law. Should it go 120 in a 60 zone... definitely not but if it thinks it can do 38 in a 35? That sounds fine.

ams6110 9y ago

They should not be able to speed arbitrarily, but it seems sensible that they would match the prevailing traffic speed. One car carefully observing a 30mph limit creates a hazard when everyone else is going 35-40.

QasimK 9y ago
Of course everyone else going at 35-40 are a hazard themselves in the first place.
nextlevelwizard 9y ago
Going at speed limit NEVER creates a hazard. It is always the drivers going over or under it. I am not getting a speeding ticket for peer pressure. If you want to speed then you can pass me at your own risk.
- cthalupa 9y ago
  >Going at speed limit NEVER creates a hazard. It is always the drivers going over or under it. Please be in the right lane if you are going slower than the flow of traffic. Regardless of whether or not you feel the people speeding are ultimately at fault, if everyone is speeding, it is a more dangerous to have a car that is going a dissimilar speed than it is for you to be speeding. Keeping right is a small mitigating factor.
- Zanni 9y ago
  Going the speed limit OFTEN creates a hazard. Technically speeding is not "exceeding the speed limit" but "driving too fast for conditions." In a torrential downpour with slick roads and poor visibility, the legal speed limit may easily be too fast for conditions, and you can be ticketed--to pick one scenario that refutes your "NEVER." And driving the speed limit in the passing lane creates an obstacle to faster traffic trying to get by, a frustration and a hazard. There was a video of some idiot "pranksters" with your exact attitude that created a rolling roadblock on a freeway by coordinating five cars to drive abreast at the exact speed limit, proving ... something. They were ticketed for hazardous driving. cthalupa is correct, though more diplomatic than I. It's more hazardous to be out of step with the surrounding traffic flow than it is to "speed."

freddie_mercury 9y ago

> My understanding is that speed limits are set by measuring the speed people are driving on the road and then determining a speed at which roughly 15% of the drivers are exceeding that limit. That is not how all speed limits are set; it just one possible technique: https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/speedmgt/ref_mats/fhwasa12004/ https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/speedmgt/ref_mats/fhwasa12004/

omarforgotpwd 9y ago
Thanks for clarifying, and the link! Actually a really interesting read.

LeifCarrotson 9y ago

It's one thing to state that it's common and simple to, say, overclock a CPU, even if the processor specs have a speed a few percent lower. Typical headroom, operator requirements, and a decent cooler suggest that everyone could probably bump clock speeds by a few percent without issue. But you wouldn't expect a plane crash investigation to mention offhand that the flight computers were mildly overclocked. A test drive of a new self-driving car should not speed, even if it's common or normal.