5 ms·

I recently bought a WV Atlas with adaptive cruise control and front assist. It also has a variety of other sensors and assists. It is no way an AV, but these fe

I recently bought a WV Atlas with adaptive cruise control and front assist. It also has a variety of other sensors and assists. It is no way an AV, but these features IMHO add a lot of value. If every car had them, I bet road safety would increase significantly. I agree with the article. I think it is a big deal.

leeoniya 9y ago
yep, got a VW Alltrack last year. the adaptive cruise is really neat.
akira2501 9y ago
> If every car had them, I bet road safety would increase significantly. If you look into the data on fatal accidents and examine them even for a few minutes you'll easily see that this is a foolhardy bet. The causes of accidents and fatalities are highly variable and not what you would expect. There's also extreme variability between the individual states; for example, Texas has more _total_ fatalities than California. There's extreme variability between the sexes and for different age groups within those sexes. Finally, there are motorcycles. AI/Driverless, AV and all the attendant sensors and inputs will have an impact, just not nearly as large of one as many people unfortunately expect.
- alexfringes 9y ago
  What’s a good way to look at and explore this data? Where did you learn about the patterns you mention above?
  - akira2501 9y ago
    Use NHTSA's FARS: https://www.nhtsa.gov/research-data/fatality-analysis-reporting-system-fars https://www.nhtsa.gov/research-data/fatality-analysis-report... Personally I downloaded their database and then converted into an SQLite database that I could run queries against. They do have an online tool, but I have no experience with that.
    - matt_the_bass 9y ago
      Cool! Just a hobby for you or do you have other motivation to explore the data?
- TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
  I haven’t looked at any data, but I’m willing to bet non-fatal vehicle related collisions out number fatal ones by a significant factor. Would a decrease in some types of collisions be a reasonable assumption under the grandparents premise?
- edejong 9y ago
  > Finally, there are motorcycles. Absolutely, I wish every prospective motorcyclist would study the stats (more than 35 times increased mortality rate per driven km [1]) and discuss this with their loved ones. Those who insist driving a motorcycle afterwards deserve their genes to be removed from the gene pool. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_safety https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_safety
  - ghaff 9y ago
    Perhaps you can also provide a reference to how risk-taking is inherently an undesirable genetic component that should be weeded out.
    - edejong 9y ago
      I'd prefer to give a reference to how risk-taking while involving others is an undesirable trait. When I mortally hit a motorcyclist, even without a fault of my own, I might feel guilty the rest of my life. So indirectly, the irrational risk-taking of others is involving those who are trying to act responsibly. So, I suggest to take the risk-taking elsewhere: go climb a mountain, do base-jumping or take the motorcycle to a racing track (bonus: real competition!). But leave other motorists out of your game.
  - arbitrage 9y ago
    Nobody deserves eugenics.
    - edejong 9y ago
      I never proposed for others to consciously select for certain genes. Those who drive a motorcycle can inform themselves of the risk they take and as such, choose for the higher probability of their genes not making it to offspring. Especially considering that it is predominantly 16-24 yo who die in motorcycle accidents.
  - KozmoNau7 9y ago
    Before wishing death or removal from the gene pool on anyone, maybe you should look at why the accident rate is high, especially in the US. Severely deficient mandatory motorcycle training, riders who refuse to wear helmets or any safety gear at all, a tendency to just go for the biggest most powerful engine right away, and of course shitty drivers, who either deliberately antagonize riders, or simply don't give a shit. Squids and outlaw bikers heavily skew the numbers.
- matt_the_bass 9y ago
  I think safety includes non-fatalities. Where I live I can safely say that nearly every day during rush hour there is a rear ending collision causing lots of delays for lots of people. Rarely does this kill someone but it’s still a safety issue. I bet nearly all of these would be mitigated if every car had such technology.
- Silhouette 9y ago
  If you look into the data on fatal accidents and examine them even for a few minutes you'll easily see that this is a foolhardy bet. Quoting the linked article: At the moment, most AEB systems are "forward-looking". In other words they are designed to prevent crashes where one car runs into the back of another. Such crashes account for around a quarter of all accidents, but these are the incidents which can cause some of the nastiest injuries, such as whiplash. AEB has been shown to reduce such collisions by 38%, according to research by the safety organisation Euro NCAP.
jbrooksuk 9y ago
I recently bought a T-Roc and ACC is pretty awesome. The issue I have is on the motorway, when changing lanes, it has a tendency to lose speed and with it being a 1 litre, it takes a while to build up the speed again. It also has front sensors which has alerted and braked for me a couple of times when someone has almost stopped dead at 60MPH (even with stopping distance, it was a quick stop).
- matt_the_bass 9y ago
  Maybe Changing lanes isn’t really a use case for cruise control that doesn’t require extra user attention. In my car you can manually give it the gas when changing lanes and accelerate faster than by ACC without disabling ACC. Maybe your car allows that too?

leeoniya 9y ago

yep, got a VW Alltrack last year. the adaptive cruise is really neat.

akira2501 9y ago

> If every car had them, I bet road safety would increase significantly. If you look into the data on fatal accidents and examine them even for a few minutes you'll easily see that this is a foolhardy bet. The causes of accidents and fatalities are highly variable and not what you would expect. There's also extreme variability between the individual states; for example, Texas has more _total_ fatalities than California. There's extreme variability between the sexes and for different age groups within those sexes. Finally, there are motorcycles. AI/Driverless, AV and all the attendant sensors and inputs will have an impact, just not nearly as large of one as many people unfortunately expect.

alexfringes 9y ago
What’s a good way to look at and explore this data? Where did you learn about the patterns you mention above?
- akira2501 9y ago
  Use NHTSA's FARS: https://www.nhtsa.gov/research-data/fatality-analysis-reporting-system-fars https://www.nhtsa.gov/research-data/fatality-analysis-report... Personally I downloaded their database and then converted into an SQLite database that I could run queries against. They do have an online tool, but I have no experience with that.
  - matt_the_bass 9y ago
    Cool! Just a hobby for you or do you have other motivation to explore the data?
TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
I haven’t looked at any data, but I’m willing to bet non-fatal vehicle related collisions out number fatal ones by a significant factor. Would a decrease in some types of collisions be a reasonable assumption under the grandparents premise?
edejong 9y ago
> Finally, there are motorcycles. Absolutely, I wish every prospective motorcyclist would study the stats (more than 35 times increased mortality rate per driven km [1]) and discuss this with their loved ones. Those who insist driving a motorcycle afterwards deserve their genes to be removed from the gene pool. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_safety https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_safety
- ghaff 9y ago
  Perhaps you can also provide a reference to how risk-taking is inherently an undesirable genetic component that should be weeded out.
  - edejong 9y ago
    I'd prefer to give a reference to how risk-taking while involving others is an undesirable trait. When I mortally hit a motorcyclist, even without a fault of my own, I might feel guilty the rest of my life. So indirectly, the irrational risk-taking of others is involving those who are trying to act responsibly. So, I suggest to take the risk-taking elsewhere: go climb a mountain, do base-jumping or take the motorcycle to a racing track (bonus: real competition!). But leave other motorists out of your game.
- arbitrage 9y ago
  Nobody deserves eugenics.
  - edejong 9y ago
    I never proposed for others to consciously select for certain genes. Those who drive a motorcycle can inform themselves of the risk they take and as such, choose for the higher probability of their genes not making it to offspring. Especially considering that it is predominantly 16-24 yo who die in motorcycle accidents.
- KozmoNau7 9y ago
  Before wishing death or removal from the gene pool on anyone, maybe you should look at why the accident rate is high, especially in the US. Severely deficient mandatory motorcycle training, riders who refuse to wear helmets or any safety gear at all, a tendency to just go for the biggest most powerful engine right away, and of course shitty drivers, who either deliberately antagonize riders, or simply don't give a shit. Squids and outlaw bikers heavily skew the numbers.
matt_the_bass 9y ago
I think safety includes non-fatalities. Where I live I can safely say that nearly every day during rush hour there is a rear ending collision causing lots of delays for lots of people. Rarely does this kill someone but it’s still a safety issue. I bet nearly all of these would be mitigated if every car had such technology.
Silhouette 9y ago
If you look into the data on fatal accidents and examine them even for a few minutes you'll easily see that this is a foolhardy bet. Quoting the linked article: At the moment, most AEB systems are "forward-looking". In other words they are designed to prevent crashes where one car runs into the back of another. Such crashes account for around a quarter of all accidents, but these are the incidents which can cause some of the nastiest injuries, such as whiplash. AEB has been shown to reduce such collisions by 38%, according to research by the safety organisation Euro NCAP.

jbrooksuk 9y ago

I recently bought a T-Roc and ACC is pretty awesome. The issue I have is on the motorway, when changing lanes, it has a tendency to lose speed and with it being a 1 litre, it takes a while to build up the speed again. It also has front sensors which has alerted and braked for me a couple of times when someone has almost stopped dead at 60MPH (even with stopping distance, it was a quick stop).

matt_the_bass 9y ago
Maybe Changing lanes isn’t really a use case for cruise control that doesn’t require extra user attention. In my car you can manually give it the gas when changing lanes and accelerate faster than by ACC without disabling ACC. Maybe your car allows that too?