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What happens when someone who learns to "drive" with a system like this ends up in a rental car that doesn't have it? I've personally watched friends almost si

by 908087 8y ago

What happens when someone who learns to "drive" with a system like this ends up in a rental car that doesn't have it? I've personally watched friends almost side swipe cars after becoming too dependent on "blind spot detection" telling them when it's safe to change lanes.

taneq 8y ago
The same thing that happens when someone learns to "drive" with an automatic transmission and then ends up in a rental car with a manual transmission: They sheepishly admit they can't drive the vehicle, and ask for one with more automation.
- deelowe 8y ago
  You can't get out of a parking spot if you don't know how to drive stick. With this, I'm not so sure it's that straight forward. You know how to do all the functions required to drive, but then you get on the interstate, hit 70mph, turn too quickly and lose all ability to control the vehicle when it presents the slightest unexpected input, over correct, and then end up careening into 4 lanes of traffic.
- 908087 8y ago
  Not really comparable. It's immediately obvious to someone who can't drive a manual that they need to switch to a vehicle with an automatic transmission. Someone who learned on or became accustomed to a vehicle that transparently corrects all of their mistakes could easily end up in way over their head before realizing that the car they're driving doesn't make up for their lack of basic lane keeping skills / etc.
  - code_duck 8y ago
    I could picture someone in between with manual transmission skills who is used to an automatic getting into trouble. Due to lack of experience they could be fine under avaerage, non-stressful conditions. But if they need to make a quick evasive maneuver, and forget that they have a manual transmission or don’t know what gear to go into, they could end up stalling the car or revving in neutral when they meant to move out-of-the-way quickly.
    - brokenmachine 8y ago
      I've driven manual vehicles for ~15 years now, and even I'm not sure I wouldn't forget to hit the clutch and stall if I had to brake really hard during a quick evasive maneuver. I have had one incident where I had to swerve onto the wrong side of the road to dodge a car that suddenly pulled into my lane from a line of parked cars (with no indicator and no warning). I was lucky there was no oncoming traffic because there was no way I could have stopped without hitting the car that pulled out. I didn't stall then but I also didn't have to come to a complete stop, like if a kid had jumped onto the road and I had nowhere to go and had to slam the brakes completely on. I don't think stalling is really a major safety issue though. About the only example I can think of where you'd really have to accelerate to be safe is when your car is stalled on railway tracks, and in that case you'd be unlikely to have had to do some maneuver that landed you there. 99.99% of the time slowing down is safer than accelerating.
- digianarchist 8y ago
  In the UK you aren’t permitted to drive a manual vehicle if you passed your test in an automatic.
  - taneq 8y ago
    Same in Australia. Are you allowed to do so in the U.S.? I kind of meant to imply there would be different licensing for "ADAS-only" drivers.
    - gambiting 8y ago
      Yes. You can pass your test in an automatic, then buy a manual and have zero clue how to drive it and it's 100% legal. Just like you can pass your test in a little 1000kg 2 seater and immediately after the test go and buy a 12-tonne converted RV and drive that with no extra training or qualifications. US is extremely lax with its driver training.
      - dsfyu404ed 8y ago
        Sounds like other countries are over-regulated. In all of those cases you're dangerous for maybe a day while you familiarize yourself with the new vehicle and most people behave very, very conservatively when driving something different than they're used to. Nobody is passing their test in a Miata then renting a box truck and saying "yes, I can totally take this hairpin just as fast as I would in a Miata". The biggest danger from people switching from small to large vehicles seems to be bumping things in tight spaces (parking lots) and with manual the danger is rolling back too much on a hill start or stalling it when trying to pull into traffic. While certainly expensive and inconvenient I don't think those sorts of accidents are cause enough danger to the public or are common enough to prohibit people from driving a manual or renting a box truck without a special license. I think people being unfamiliar with what they're driving is an edge case a lot like mechanical failure, everyone hand wrings over it, some jurisdictions take steps to try and prevent it but in the real world it's just such a tiny fraction of accidents (mostly minor single car accidents at that) compared to people being stupid that trying to prevent these edge cases is a waste of time and money. Resources are finite and they would be better spent elsewhere.
falcor84 8y ago
Currently a person still needs to pass a regular driving test which ascertains that they can correctly drive in a "regular" car for 30min. I would actually be very pleased if in the future there is a simpler test for driving a "clever" car, but which doesn't convey a regular license.
- 908087 8y ago
  The "test" in the US is already a joke. We absolutely don't need to be making it any simpler. If you're unable to meet the current standard, you probably shouldn't be allowed to walk down the street unescorted.. let alone drive a car, regardless of the "cleverness" of that vehicle.

by 908087 8y ago

taneq 8y ago

The same thing that happens when someone learns to "drive" with an automatic transmission and then ends up in a rental car with a manual transmission: They sheepishly admit they can't drive the vehicle, and ask for one with more automation.

deelowe 8y ago
You can't get out of a parking spot if you don't know how to drive stick. With this, I'm not so sure it's that straight forward. You know how to do all the functions required to drive, but then you get on the interstate, hit 70mph, turn too quickly and lose all ability to control the vehicle when it presents the slightest unexpected input, over correct, and then end up careening into 4 lanes of traffic.
908087 8y ago
Not really comparable. It's immediately obvious to someone who can't drive a manual that they need to switch to a vehicle with an automatic transmission. Someone who learned on or became accustomed to a vehicle that transparently corrects all of their mistakes could easily end up in way over their head before realizing that the car they're driving doesn't make up for their lack of basic lane keeping skills / etc.
- code_duck 8y ago
  I could picture someone in between with manual transmission skills who is used to an automatic getting into trouble. Due to lack of experience they could be fine under avaerage, non-stressful conditions. But if they need to make a quick evasive maneuver, and forget that they have a manual transmission or don’t know what gear to go into, they could end up stalling the car or revving in neutral when they meant to move out-of-the-way quickly.
  - brokenmachine 8y ago
    I've driven manual vehicles for ~15 years now, and even I'm not sure I wouldn't forget to hit the clutch and stall if I had to brake really hard during a quick evasive maneuver. I have had one incident where I had to swerve onto the wrong side of the road to dodge a car that suddenly pulled into my lane from a line of parked cars (with no indicator and no warning). I was lucky there was no oncoming traffic because there was no way I could have stopped without hitting the car that pulled out. I didn't stall then but I also didn't have to come to a complete stop, like if a kid had jumped onto the road and I had nowhere to go and had to slam the brakes completely on. I don't think stalling is really a major safety issue though. About the only example I can think of where you'd really have to accelerate to be safe is when your car is stalled on railway tracks, and in that case you'd be unlikely to have had to do some maneuver that landed you there. 99.99% of the time slowing down is safer than accelerating.
digianarchist 8y ago
In the UK you aren’t permitted to drive a manual vehicle if you passed your test in an automatic.
- taneq 8y ago
  Same in Australia. Are you allowed to do so in the U.S.? I kind of meant to imply there would be different licensing for "ADAS-only" drivers.
  - gambiting 8y ago
    Yes. You can pass your test in an automatic, then buy a manual and have zero clue how to drive it and it's 100% legal. Just like you can pass your test in a little 1000kg 2 seater and immediately after the test go and buy a 12-tonne converted RV and drive that with no extra training or qualifications. US is extremely lax with its driver training.
    - dsfyu404ed 8y ago
      Sounds like other countries are over-regulated. In all of those cases you're dangerous for maybe a day while you familiarize yourself with the new vehicle and most people behave very, very conservatively when driving something different than they're used to. Nobody is passing their test in a Miata then renting a box truck and saying "yes, I can totally take this hairpin just as fast as I would in a Miata". The biggest danger from people switching from small to large vehicles seems to be bumping things in tight spaces (parking lots) and with manual the danger is rolling back too much on a hill start or stalling it when trying to pull into traffic. While certainly expensive and inconvenient I don't think those sorts of accidents are cause enough danger to the public or are common enough to prohibit people from driving a manual or renting a box truck without a special license. I think people being unfamiliar with what they're driving is an edge case a lot like mechanical failure, everyone hand wrings over it, some jurisdictions take steps to try and prevent it but in the real world it's just such a tiny fraction of accidents (mostly minor single car accidents at that) compared to people being stupid that trying to prevent these edge cases is a waste of time and money. Resources are finite and they would be better spent elsewhere.

falcor84 8y ago

Currently a person still needs to pass a regular driving test which ascertains that they can correctly drive in a "regular" car for 30min. I would actually be very pleased if in the future there is a simpler test for driving a "clever" car, but which doesn't convey a regular license.

908087 8y ago
The "test" in the US is already a joke. We absolutely don't need to be making it any simpler. If you're unable to meet the current standard, you probably shouldn't be allowed to walk down the street unescorted.. let alone drive a car, regardless of the "cleverness" of that vehicle.