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> "Lane changes appear to be a problem for the cars," Randazzo says in the video. When trying to move into a crowded lane, a Waymo car seemed to lack a human dr

by woah 8y ago

> "Lane changes appear to be a problem for the cars," Randazzo says in the video. When trying to move into a crowded lane, a Waymo car seemed to lack a human driver's ability to anticipate other drivers' actions and squeeze into an open spot. Instead, the vehicle would turn on its turn signal and wait for a few seconds for an opening to appear. If one didn't appear, it would turn the turn signal off and wait for a while before trying again. This makes sense, because a lot of times merging into a lane is a game of chicken. You've got to make the drivers in that lane believe that you're going to merge anyway and that they'll need to slow down to avoid hitting you.

Swizec 8y ago
It's also about accelerating into the lane when half an opening appears so the drivers behind you don't have to slow down as much. A lot of city driving, especially rush hour city driving, is about creating an opening. Not about waiting for one. But yeah if your turn signal is on and you're not moving into my lane within 1 second, I'm assuming you forgot to turn it off.
- jnbiche 8y ago
  > A lot of city driving, especially rush hour city driving, is about creating an opening. Not about waiting for one. Exactly, which is why non-city drivers struggle to drive in big cities. They're used to just waiting for an opening.
- blattimwind 8y ago
  Always curious how traffic is viewed as an antagonistic activity by many. I usually have the opposite impression. Someone wants to switch lanes in dense traffic, so I slow down slightly and let them slip into my lane. Others do the same for me. That's working with each other not against each other for me.
  - rootusrootus 8y ago
    That sounds so polite. And unlike anything I have ever experienced. Especially in the truly dense traffic, cooperation means giving up just enough space to let the other guy take it, as long as he's assertive. Definitely not a place for the timid, I've found that people who are accustomed to driving in extremely dense traffic tend not to have much patience for lollygagging. It screws up the rhythm.
  - TheSmiddy 8y ago
    I leave massive gaps constantly now, it lets me see farther ahead so I can switch lanes when I see a problem coming and my average trip time is definitely shorter because of this. I really like this video for describing some of the advantages of "zen driving": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGFqfTCL2fs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGFqfTCL2fs
  - HillaryBriss 8y ago
    in LA, drivers on a side street who are waiting to make a right hand turn to get in your lane don't actually wait. they just start turning and enter your lane. you better slow down and give them an opening or you'll hit them. which you will definitely feel like doing sometimes. that's one reason i really look forward to the day when cautious, defensive, courteous self-driven cars replace all human drivers here.
  - estebank 8y ago
    You have clearly never driven in LA. :) I had an accelerated course in aggressive driving over a couple of hours when going through it. In comparison driving in SF or NY is like visiting a spa.
    - ryanwaggoner 8y ago
      Sorry, but no. LA is really that not that different from NYC, northern NJ, DC, Boston, Chicago, SF, etc. Traffic is bad in all those cities and drivers are all pretty aggressive. I’ve driven in all of them and never noticed any real difference in the difficulty. Now, driving in southeast Asia or southern Italy was very, very different from any US city.
  - Swizec 8y ago
    Well thing is that if you put on the blinker, I’ll start leaving a gap. But if you don’t take it I’m gonna stop leaving one and assume your blinker was a mistake.
the_clarence 8y ago
In the video you can actually see the waymo car do that. Faking to move in, then stopping, then faking, ...
- joering2 8y ago
  ... but as soon as I can recognize its Waymo autonomous car, I stop caring and continue driving, because I can easily assume how machine will react (full stop, etc); meanwhile driving on the road around human drivers I have no other choice that assume most or majority are unpredictable; so I better stop let them in, before some crazy loon do something we both going to regret.
- klyrs 8y ago
  Classic AI... no sense of continuity Me: it's really sunny today AI: I love sunny days Me: me too, maybe that's why I'm so happy today AI: why do you think you're so happy today?

by woah 8y ago

Swizec 8y ago

It's also about accelerating into the lane when half an opening appears so the drivers behind you don't have to slow down as much. A lot of city driving, especially rush hour city driving, is about creating an opening. Not about waiting for one. But yeah if your turn signal is on and you're not moving into my lane within 1 second, I'm assuming you forgot to turn it off.

jnbiche 8y ago
> A lot of city driving, especially rush hour city driving, is about creating an opening. Not about waiting for one. Exactly, which is why non-city drivers struggle to drive in big cities. They're used to just waiting for an opening.
blattimwind 8y ago
Always curious how traffic is viewed as an antagonistic activity by many. I usually have the opposite impression. Someone wants to switch lanes in dense traffic, so I slow down slightly and let them slip into my lane. Others do the same for me. That's working with each other not against each other for me.
- rootusrootus 8y ago
  That sounds so polite. And unlike anything I have ever experienced. Especially in the truly dense traffic, cooperation means giving up just enough space to let the other guy take it, as long as he's assertive. Definitely not a place for the timid, I've found that people who are accustomed to driving in extremely dense traffic tend not to have much patience for lollygagging. It screws up the rhythm.
- TheSmiddy 8y ago
  I leave massive gaps constantly now, it lets me see farther ahead so I can switch lanes when I see a problem coming and my average trip time is definitely shorter because of this. I really like this video for describing some of the advantages of "zen driving": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGFqfTCL2fs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGFqfTCL2fs
- HillaryBriss 8y ago
  in LA, drivers on a side street who are waiting to make a right hand turn to get in your lane don't actually wait. they just start turning and enter your lane. you better slow down and give them an opening or you'll hit them. which you will definitely feel like doing sometimes. that's one reason i really look forward to the day when cautious, defensive, courteous self-driven cars replace all human drivers here.
- estebank 8y ago
  You have clearly never driven in LA. :) I had an accelerated course in aggressive driving over a couple of hours when going through it. In comparison driving in SF or NY is like visiting a spa.
  - ryanwaggoner 8y ago
    Sorry, but no. LA is really that not that different from NYC, northern NJ, DC, Boston, Chicago, SF, etc. Traffic is bad in all those cities and drivers are all pretty aggressive. I’ve driven in all of them and never noticed any real difference in the difficulty. Now, driving in southeast Asia or southern Italy was very, very different from any US city.
- Swizec 8y ago
  Well thing is that if you put on the blinker, I’ll start leaving a gap. But if you don’t take it I’m gonna stop leaving one and assume your blinker was a mistake.

the_clarence 8y ago

In the video you can actually see the waymo car do that. Faking to move in, then stopping, then faking, ...

joering2 8y ago
... but as soon as I can recognize its Waymo autonomous car, I stop caring and continue driving, because I can easily assume how machine will react (full stop, etc); meanwhile driving on the road around human drivers I have no other choice that assume most or majority are unpredictable; so I better stop let them in, before some crazy loon do something we both going to regret.
klyrs 8y ago
Classic AI... no sense of continuity Me: it's really sunny today AI: I love sunny days Me: me too, maybe that's why I'm so happy today AI: why do you think you're so happy today?