2 ms·

I have driven in the US for over 20 years and have the opposite experience. I am constantly looking for people, animals (deer are quite dangerous to hit, and th

I have driven in the US for over 20 years and have the opposite experience. I am constantly looking for people, animals (deer are quite dangerous to hit, and they move _way_ faster) and lost count long long ago how many times I have been in very similar or worse situations. It's not even remotely rare. Drive on campus or downtown in AZ for a more than a few minutes.

freehunter 9y ago
Yes, obviously you should watch for objects unexpectedly crossing the road. No one argued you shouldn't. The point is, some people have and will still argue that the pedestrian has more right to the road than the driver and pedestrians should be allowed to cross anywhere they please. But that's not how it works in the US, crossing roads like this is illegal unless it's done at a crosswalk, and normally people are not stupid enough to do it with oncoming traffic.
- jakeogh 9y ago
  The proponents of pre-programmed cars would be wise to stop blaming "humans breaking the rules" for their mistakes.
  - freehunter 9y ago
    You're not even arguing against what I've said. You are not the intended audience for my comment.
    - jakeogh 9y ago
      "obviously you should watch for objects unexpectedly crossing the road. No one argued you shouldn't." Strawman. I argued the opposite. You made the grossly incorrect assertion "That is not a normal thing to happen in America, and no one expects it to happen. It is a very rare situation." If preprogrammed cars cant handle random objects in unexpected places then they are uber DOA.
- Domenic_S 9y ago
  There is a limerick to this effect with the same message -- you may have (or think you have) the right-of-way, but as a pedestrian you should never insist on it.
- mhalle 9y ago
  Actually, the yielding rules for pedestrians and drivers vary widely from state to state. See this page for a summary: http://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/pedestrian-crossing-50-state-summary.aspx http://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/pedestrian-cross... But the legality is to some extent beside the point. Autonomous vehicles aren't going to be tuned to pedestrian yielding rules state-to-state, simply because hitting a pedestrian is never an acceptable outcome if avoidable no matter who is in the right/wrong.

freehunter 9y ago

Yes, obviously you should watch for objects unexpectedly crossing the road. No one argued you shouldn't. The point is, some people have and will still argue that the pedestrian has more right to the road than the driver and pedestrians should be allowed to cross anywhere they please. But that's not how it works in the US, crossing roads like this is illegal unless it's done at a crosswalk, and normally people are not stupid enough to do it with oncoming traffic.

jakeogh 9y ago
The proponents of pre-programmed cars would be wise to stop blaming "humans breaking the rules" for their mistakes.
- freehunter 9y ago
  You're not even arguing against what I've said. You are not the intended audience for my comment.
  - jakeogh 9y ago
    "obviously you should watch for objects unexpectedly crossing the road. No one argued you shouldn't." Strawman. I argued the opposite. You made the grossly incorrect assertion "That is not a normal thing to happen in America, and no one expects it to happen. It is a very rare situation." If preprogrammed cars cant handle random objects in unexpected places then they are uber DOA.
Domenic_S 9y ago
There is a limerick to this effect with the same message -- you may have (or think you have) the right-of-way, but as a pedestrian you should never insist on it.
mhalle 9y ago
Actually, the yielding rules for pedestrians and drivers vary widely from state to state. See this page for a summary: http://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/pedestrian-crossing-50-state-summary.aspx http://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/pedestrian-cross... But the legality is to some extent beside the point. Autonomous vehicles aren't going to be tuned to pedestrian yielding rules state-to-state, simply because hitting a pedestrian is never an acceptable outcome if avoidable no matter who is in the right/wrong.