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We don't need all-or-nothing. A good many people stay off the road anyhow during poor weather, and those who do go out usually stay on familiar routes, such as
by tabtab 7y ago
We don't need all-or-nothing.
A good many people stay off the road anyhow during poor weather, and those who do go out usually stay on familiar routes, such as to work or their favorite grocery store.
If self-driving cars/buses stick to a subset of streets and don't go out in big storms, they can still be widely useful. Set up (require) a universal network/database of road conditions on the main streets that all self-driving vehicles can tap into. If a problem arises, it then only directly affects the first bot-vehicle that encounters it instead of all of them that use the road. It's internet-like packet switching.
Thus, bots may get "confused" easier than humans, but they can also take advantage of automation to work around confusing areas. The upsides of automation thus counter the down-sides.
The biggest cost of taxis and buses is the driver. If you remove that, then "hitching a ride" is a lot more affordable to those who can't or don't drive.
- seibelj 7y agoBy admitting this fact you dramatically reduce the value of self driving cars and thus the inflated valuations of companies trying to create them. It is an uncomfortable truth.
- tabtab 7y agoOnce their quantity reaches a threshold, it will quickly become the primary mode of transportation, and expand onto more streets. Many youngsters don't even want to drive these days, I've noticed. They'd rather sit in a bot car/tram and surf social media. The desire for the product will grow.
- pas 7y agoThe safe self driving is possible, but currently it is awkward, results in honking (because slow speed). That is still valuable for the occasional take me home from the pub mode. The rest of the time it should work with me and disengage prematurely if there's something going on.
- tabtab 7y agoRe: "results in honking (because slow speed)" Too bad. Cowboy Driving is obsolete.
- twblalock 7y agoShould everyone own a self-driving car and also a normal car they can drive in situations the self-driving car cannot handle? Keep in mind that public transit is nonexistent in many of the places that have weather conditions self-driving cars can't handle. For me personally, if a self-driving car cannot handle 100% of the driving and I have to own a second car, I might as well just make that second car my only car and save a bunch of money. In that sense, it is all or nothing. I don't really think treating self-driving cars as a ridesharing service is a good way around this. People don't want to share cars with strangers who trash the interiors and vomit in them after a night at the bar. People want to keep stuff in the trunk, go to Home Depot and buy a bunch of stuff, transport their pets, etc. -- all things that are difficult to do with a ridesharing service.
- tabtab 7y agoNo. Use Uber if you must go out in bad weather. It's rare you have to go out in bad weather. Amazon etc. can deliver dog food if you forget.
- twblalock 7y ago> It's rare you have to go out in bad weather. Lots of people have to go to work in bad weather or they will get fired.
- tabtab 7y agoBot-cars in snowy places may be better equipped for bad weather. They could be more like snow-mobiles than cars, or the bot co. could have a fleet for snow-mobile-like-cars for the winter (or have winter wheel-train add-ons).
- rayiner 7y ago> A good many people stay off the road anyhow during poor weather, and those who do go out usually stay on familiar routes, such as to work or their favorite grocery store. How many people? Folks in Atlanta will happily drive 55 on 75/85 in torrential downpours where you can’t even see the lane markings.