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That's not how traffic works at the moment. I often have pedestrians walk towards the street and I assume they will stop so I don't slow down unless they are ch

That's not how traffic works at the moment. I often have pedestrians walk towards the street and I assume they will stop so I don't slow down unless they are children or similar. Almost every day I could hit pedestrians if they kept walking.

majormajor 8y ago
> I often have pedestrians walk towards the street and I assume they will stop so I don't slow down > the self-driving system software classified the pedestrian as an unknown object, as a vehicle, and then as a bicycle with varying expectations of future travel path Little different, huh? If you see something that looks like it might be in your way, and you aren't sure what it is, you just keep going? And if I see a pedestrian in the middle of the road at a random spot, especially at night, I'm slowing down since I don't know WTF they're thinking. Or if I'm in a neighborhood with regular street crossings carved out of the sidewalk and someone's coming up to one of those - I don't know how well they're paying attention to their surroundings.
- maxxxxx 8y ago
  I can tell pretty quickly if something is pedestrian or a bicycle and plan accordingly. In addition I can tell where the pedestrian is looking. Sometimes I slow down, sometimes I don't depending on how I assess the situation. I think it comes down to the fact that the classification algorithms are not ready for primetime.
c22 8y ago
You should slow down. Those people you are describing sound like they want to cross the street, and they probably have right of way, so yield for them. Also, my two year old will sometimes walk towards the curb, but she is very good with streets, so I am not worried. She always stops and waits to hold someone's hand before crossing. This behavior freaks some drivers out, causing them to slow or come to a complete stop, which is the nicest outcome because then I can take her hand and cross the street. When I am walking by myself drivers rarely yield even as I am stepping into the street, even at marked crossings. I guess my point is if my two year old exhibits the behavior you ascribe to a hypothetical non-child pedestrian then how can you be sure your hypothetical pedestrian won't just "keep walking"? What if they are blind, or drunk, or reckless? Perhaps you have been lucky before and never struck a pedestrian but I strongly urge you to assess your behavior. Stop for pedestrians, it's the nice thing to do and it's probably the law where you live.
- maxxxxx 8y ago
  You make me sound like a crazy driver :). Just watch the traffic along a busy road with pedestrians on the side. Nobody slows down if they pedestrians behave the usual way. You also often have pedestrians walk into the road to just stop right before the zone where cars are. Nobody slows down because they see that the pedestrian is observing traffic.
  - c22 8y ago
    I have made this observation, I even mentioned it in my comment. I am urging you and anyone else who reads my words to assess your behavior so as to affect a change in the status quo. Sometimes pedestrians do walk into the road and they do get struck. The only foolproof way to prevent this is to change driver behavior which is why the requirement to yield to pedestrians at intersections is codified into most laws. When I am driving I often see people standing at the curb just staring at their smartphone. Usually these people are wasting time because they don't expect traffic to stop. When I stop for them they are usually pleased, they cross the road and get on with their life. Sometimes these people are just waiting for an Uber or something, when I stop for them they get confused and look at me funny. I don't mind, I just smile at them and resume driving. I am in a car, so I can accelerate and travel very quickly with almost no effort. It is no trouble for me to spend a few seconds stopping for a false positive.
    - maxxxxx 8y ago
      This only works if you don't have other cars run into you when you slow down unexpectedly. I am not saying that current traffic is sane but just saying "always also down when you see pedestrians " just doesn't reflect reality. In CA you often have speed limits of 45 right next to houses with driveways. Either you play it safe and go 20 or less and get cursed at by other cars or you go way too fast to respond to unexpected obstacles.
      - c22 8y ago
        When I am driving I routinely check my rearview mirror and assess the following distance of the cars behind me, so I usually know I will not be rear-ended when I am stopping for pedestrians or for any other reason. If I am driving and I notice someone is following too close for our speed I will tap the brake lights so as to encourage them to increase their following distance. If this fails I will slow down to a speed where their following distance becomes appropriate. If they are an uncommonly aggressive driver I might even pull over or change lanes and allow them to pass, I certainly don't want to be rear-ended! That said, even if I were to fail at this, I would prefer to be rear-ended stopping for a pedestrian that would have stopped than to strike a pedestrian who failed to stop walking into the path of my vehicle. The speed limit is a reference to the maximum allowable speed of the roadway, not the minimum, only, or even recommended speed.

majormajor 8y ago

> I often have pedestrians walk towards the street and I assume they will stop so I don't slow down > the self-driving system software classified the pedestrian as an unknown object, as a vehicle, and then as a bicycle with varying expectations of future travel path Little different, huh? If you see something that looks like it might be in your way, and you aren't sure what it is, you just keep going? And if I see a pedestrian in the middle of the road at a random spot, especially at night, I'm slowing down since I don't know WTF they're thinking. Or if I'm in a neighborhood with regular street crossings carved out of the sidewalk and someone's coming up to one of those - I don't know how well they're paying attention to their surroundings.

maxxxxx 8y ago
I can tell pretty quickly if something is pedestrian or a bicycle and plan accordingly. In addition I can tell where the pedestrian is looking. Sometimes I slow down, sometimes I don't depending on how I assess the situation. I think it comes down to the fact that the classification algorithms are not ready for primetime.

c22 8y ago

You should slow down. Those people you are describing sound like they want to cross the street, and they probably have right of way, so yield for them. Also, my two year old will sometimes walk towards the curb, but she is very good with streets, so I am not worried. She always stops and waits to hold someone's hand before crossing. This behavior freaks some drivers out, causing them to slow or come to a complete stop, which is the nicest outcome because then I can take her hand and cross the street. When I am walking by myself drivers rarely yield even as I am stepping into the street, even at marked crossings. I guess my point is if my two year old exhibits the behavior you ascribe to a hypothetical non-child pedestrian then how can you be sure your hypothetical pedestrian won't just "keep walking"? What if they are blind, or drunk, or reckless? Perhaps you have been lucky before and never struck a pedestrian but I strongly urge you to assess your behavior. Stop for pedestrians, it's the nice thing to do and it's probably the law where you live.

maxxxxx 8y ago
You make me sound like a crazy driver :). Just watch the traffic along a busy road with pedestrians on the side. Nobody slows down if they pedestrians behave the usual way. You also often have pedestrians walk into the road to just stop right before the zone where cars are. Nobody slows down because they see that the pedestrian is observing traffic.
- c22 8y ago
  I have made this observation, I even mentioned it in my comment. I am urging you and anyone else who reads my words to assess your behavior so as to affect a change in the status quo. Sometimes pedestrians do walk into the road and they do get struck. The only foolproof way to prevent this is to change driver behavior which is why the requirement to yield to pedestrians at intersections is codified into most laws. When I am driving I often see people standing at the curb just staring at their smartphone. Usually these people are wasting time because they don't expect traffic to stop. When I stop for them they are usually pleased, they cross the road and get on with their life. Sometimes these people are just waiting for an Uber or something, when I stop for them they get confused and look at me funny. I don't mind, I just smile at them and resume driving. I am in a car, so I can accelerate and travel very quickly with almost no effort. It is no trouble for me to spend a few seconds stopping for a false positive.
  - maxxxxx 8y ago
    This only works if you don't have other cars run into you when you slow down unexpectedly. I am not saying that current traffic is sane but just saying "always also down when you see pedestrians " just doesn't reflect reality. In CA you often have speed limits of 45 right next to houses with driveways. Either you play it safe and go 20 or less and get cursed at by other cars or you go way too fast to respond to unexpected obstacles.
    - c22 8y ago
      When I am driving I routinely check my rearview mirror and assess the following distance of the cars behind me, so I usually know I will not be rear-ended when I am stopping for pedestrians or for any other reason. If I am driving and I notice someone is following too close for our speed I will tap the brake lights so as to encourage them to increase their following distance. If this fails I will slow down to a speed where their following distance becomes appropriate. If they are an uncommonly aggressive driver I might even pull over or change lanes and allow them to pass, I certainly don't want to be rear-ended! That said, even if I were to fail at this, I would prefer to be rear-ended stopping for a pedestrian that would have stopped than to strike a pedestrian who failed to stop walking into the path of my vehicle. The speed limit is a reference to the maximum allowable speed of the roadway, not the minimum, only, or even recommended speed.