4 ms·

> Specifically, there's an especially tricky road in I-35N in Texas Why are we ok with streets in such slapdash condition in the first place? Yes I think self

by bhawks 5y ago

> Specifically, there's an especially tricky road in I-35N in Texas Why are we ok with streets in such slapdash condition in the first place? Yes I think self driving cars need to handle it, but I also think we aren't handling it. Self driving cars have the potential to greatly reduce deaths due to accidents and improve accessibility for often ignored segments of our population. It is sad to see it so close, but held back by reasons like this.

x0x0 5y ago
There was always where this was going to end -- demands that we spend (from the public) hundreds of billions to upgrade roads to make self-driving tech "work". Also, > and right now, no driverless car from any company can gracefully handle rain, sleet, or snow Good thing the entire US has the weather patterns of the bay area, and never experiences rain, sleet, or snow!
MichaelGroves 5y ago
Lots of people aren't okay with road conditions. But lots more people aren't okay with a myraid of other pet peeves and legitimate grievances they have with just about every single aspect of our society. The process of prioritizing which matters to address is called "politics", a process so notorious I assume I don't need to explain this further.
chiph 5y ago
IH-35 has been under continuous construction since .. the 90's? Hindsight being what it is .. they should have built a new 8-lane highway a few miles to the West rather than attempting to widen it multiple times (with all the bridge replacements needed) through towns like Temple and Waco. But as the Texas Central Railroad has found, you can't just eminent-domain land in Texas for large infrastructure projects.
- ghaff 5y ago
  I live about an hour west of Boston. There's a sort of half-ring six-lane highway called I-495. It mostly handles the traffic load fairly well. But it's a source of sometimes genuine surprise to me that a highway of this capacity for the area was built in the late 1950s given that must have seemed almost outrageously overbuilt for at least most of its route at the time.

by bhawks 5y ago

x0x0 5y ago

There was always where this was going to end -- demands that we spend (from the public) hundreds of billions to upgrade roads to make self-driving tech "work". Also, > and right now, no driverless car from any company can gracefully handle rain, sleet, or snow Good thing the entire US has the weather patterns of the bay area, and never experiences rain, sleet, or snow!

MichaelGroves 5y ago

Lots of people aren't okay with road conditions. But lots more people aren't okay with a myraid of other pet peeves and legitimate grievances they have with just about every single aspect of our society. The process of prioritizing which matters to address is called "politics", a process so notorious I assume I don't need to explain this further.

chiph 5y ago

IH-35 has been under continuous construction since .. the 90's? Hindsight being what it is .. they should have built a new 8-lane highway a few miles to the West rather than attempting to widen it multiple times (with all the bridge replacements needed) through towns like Temple and Waco. But as the Texas Central Railroad has found, you can't just eminent-domain land in Texas for large infrastructure projects.

ghaff 5y ago
I live about an hour west of Boston. There's a sort of half-ring six-lane highway called I-495. It mostly handles the traffic load fairly well. But it's a source of sometimes genuine surprise to me that a highway of this capacity for the area was built in the late 1950s given that must have seemed almost outrageously overbuilt for at least most of its route at the time.