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I have wondered how autonomous cars are supposed to handle a scenario where common sense dictates a slight violation of the traffic rules. For example, let's sa

by badpun 8y ago

I have wondered how autonomous cars are supposed to handle a scenario where common sense dictates a slight violation of the traffic rules. For example, let's say that you're on a long, narrow road in the mountains where passing is forbidden for many miles. If there's a slow vehicle in front of you, such as a cyclist or a tractor, normally you wait for an opportunity for a safe pass and you take it. An autonomous car however, would just follow it, costing you many minutes of your time.

MRD85 8y ago
I picture the future of self-driving cars will free up the human to do other things. If I have a desk set up in the car and am working/relaxing then I won't be too concerned if my 1-hour trip takes 1 hour and 10 minutes. The big advantage will be longer trips. I live in Australia and we have huge distances to cover when driving between cities. If I can "work from car" for 8 hours while driving interstate and my employer pays me then the trip is essentially free for time.
- nikofeyn 8y ago
  if only we had other technologies that could fill this role.
  - MRD85 8y ago
    Are you alluding to public transport? That's a very different beast from what I've described. What I described is transport that: Departs from your house on your own schedule with no unwanted stops. Can have a full desktop setup within it. This isn't a car, it's a personal transportation device
abruzzi 8y ago
A good example would be the area around Lancaster Pennsylvania. With Amish horse drawn buggies, people pass them on double yellow lines all the time. I don’t know if that is legal, but where I live in New Mexico we have a similar, if less common occurrence with farm equipment on the road—everyone passes them, though technically it’s a traffic violation. In some of these instances the speed difference is significant enough (10mph in a 50mph zone) that it could easily be more significant than 10 minutes on an hour drive. It makes me wonder about traffic laws, and whether there will be a push to make these behaviors more explicit laws because there is potentially huge issue if Waymo or other companies program breaking laws into their driving code. Add to that that traffic laws in the USA are primarily state laws, but municipalities frequently have additional laws. The laws are all mostly the same, so I suspect autonomous vehicles will be programmed to the most restrictive of the laws.

by badpun 8y ago

MRD85 8y ago

I picture the future of self-driving cars will free up the human to do other things. If I have a desk set up in the car and am working/relaxing then I won't be too concerned if my 1-hour trip takes 1 hour and 10 minutes. The big advantage will be longer trips. I live in Australia and we have huge distances to cover when driving between cities. If I can "work from car" for 8 hours while driving interstate and my employer pays me then the trip is essentially free for time.

nikofeyn 8y ago
if only we had other technologies that could fill this role.
- MRD85 8y ago
  Are you alluding to public transport? That's a very different beast from what I've described. What I described is transport that: Departs from your house on your own schedule with no unwanted stops. Can have a full desktop setup within it. This isn't a car, it's a personal transportation device

abruzzi 8y ago

A good example would be the area around Lancaster Pennsylvania. With Amish horse drawn buggies, people pass them on double yellow lines all the time. I don’t know if that is legal, but where I live in New Mexico we have a similar, if less common occurrence with farm equipment on the road—everyone passes them, though technically it’s a traffic violation. In some of these instances the speed difference is significant enough (10mph in a 50mph zone) that it could easily be more significant than 10 minutes on an hour drive. It makes me wonder about traffic laws, and whether there will be a push to make these behaviors more explicit laws because there is potentially huge issue if Waymo or other companies program breaking laws into their driving code. Add to that that traffic laws in the USA are primarily state laws, but municipalities frequently have additional laws. The laws are all mostly the same, so I suspect autonomous vehicles will be programmed to the most restrictive of the laws.