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Such an excellent and cogent discussion of the challenges of making an autonomous vehicle startup work. I really resonate with the challenge they had making sa
by ChuckMcM 7y ago
Such an excellent and cogent discussion of the challenges of making an autonomous vehicle startup work.
I really resonate with the challenge they had making safety "sexy" from a coverage point of view. It seems it shares that attribute with "security" which, when done well, means nothing happens.
I had a lot of hope that we would get four lane (two each way) "freight ways"[1]. These would be paved roads designed specifically for autonomous trucks to move freight from one point to another. With sufficient freight ways between key cities on the coast and further inland, and efficient way to move goods with somewhat worse costs than rail and quite a bit better in terms of reaction time.
[1] Like a free way but designed specifically to exclusively service autonomous trucks carrying standard containers.
- Arbalest 7y agoThis begs the question, how much does it cost to lay road than to lay rail? If it's going to be exclusively autonomous, the more narrow confines of the rail should be well suited.
- stefan8r 7y agoAnother common fallacy. The US actually has a better rail network than Europe - most people just think it's worse because passenger rail here sucks. That's the case because we prioritize freight trains over passenger (in America Business is #1). To paraphrase Churchill, trucking is the worst form of transportation, besides all the others. If you can put freight on a train, you do. It's slower, point-to-point, and less good a less-than-trainload freight than trucks are.
- stefan8r 7y agoMany many smart people share this thought. I don't. Freeway costs roughly $4m/lane/mile. Building a duplicate system for trucking would make UBI look cheap. Truck taxes also pay for much of current hway infrastructure, so you'd need to replace that $