4 ms·

There is a lot of value in handling the roads in the costal and southern metropolitan areas - a significant portion of the pollution lives there and its the 80%

by shagie 3y ago

There is a lot of value in handling the roads in the costal and southern metropolitan areas - a significant portion of the pollution lives there and its the 80% use case. I'm waiting for a car that is able to handle https://www.kttc.com/2022/11/29/current-minnesota-iowa-road-condition-maps/ https://www.kttc.com/2022/11/29/current-minnesota-iowa-road-... without having cell phone connectivity in night time conditions because that more closely resembles my evening commute for a season of the year. Driverless cars may be good for commuting in cities... and highway miles, and fair weather trips (I'd be curious to see someone go driverless all the way to a ski resort in the winter when you need chains on the tires to go on I-80). It may be good for all the driving needs for much of the population. But it's not categorically shown to be safer than human drivers (which is what the article is about) outside of the carefully crafted and restricted areas. I can't take a driverless car to go see my parents for Christmas (rural road, midwest, no cell phone coverage for 25% of the route)... or for them to come visit me - and that's where the driverless car would have a great deal of value if it was safer than me driving there.

ajross 3y ago
> I'm waiting for a car that is able to handle https://www.kttc.com/2022/11/29/current-minnesota-iowa-road- https://www.kttc.com/2022/11/29/current-minnesota-iowa-road-... without having cell phone connectivity in night time conditions because that more closely resembles my evening commute for a season of the year. If you're going to be in the car, why? I mean, what if someone offered you a car that would drive you around except in comically cherry picked conditions of unplowed roads during active snowstorms? Drive yourself if there's snow on the ground[1]. This just seems like a specious and silly argument about vehicle autonomy to me. [1] Or, in fact, don't. Because that shit's dangerous and you know it, no matter how much you protest that the upper midwest is cold. Stay off the roads in snowstorms and let the emergency crews clear the roads, it's their job.
- shagie 3y ago
  It's not the utility that I have issue with. It's the claim "driverless cars may already be safer than human drivers" because it leaves out the criteria. I'll accept "driverless cars may already be safer than human drivers when driving in urban conditions in San Francisco or Phoenix." No problem. The unqualified statement however - I haven't seen anything saying (or even attempting to claim) that it is safer than humans when driving in Minneapolis at 5pm on December 1st, 2023. I'm still waiting for the unqualified statement to be attempted to even see if it holds up.

by shagie 3y ago

ajross 3y ago

> I'm waiting for a car that is able to handle https://www.kttc.com/2022/11/29/current-minnesota-iowa-road- https://www.kttc.com/2022/11/29/current-minnesota-iowa-road-... without having cell phone connectivity in night time conditions because that more closely resembles my evening commute for a season of the year. If you're going to be in the car, why? I mean, what if someone offered you a car that would drive you around except in comically cherry picked conditions of unplowed roads during active snowstorms? Drive yourself if there's snow on the ground[1]. This just seems like a specious and silly argument about vehicle autonomy to me. [1] Or, in fact, don't. Because that shit's dangerous and you know it, no matter how much you protest that the upper midwest is cold. Stay off the roads in snowstorms and let the emergency crews clear the roads, it's their job.

shagie 3y ago
It's not the utility that I have issue with. It's the claim "driverless cars may already be safer than human drivers" because it leaves out the criteria. I'll accept "driverless cars may already be safer than human drivers when driving in urban conditions in San Francisco or Phoenix." No problem. The unqualified statement however - I haven't seen anything saying (or even attempting to claim) that it is safer than humans when driving in Minneapolis at 5pm on December 1st, 2023. I'm still waiting for the unqualified statement to be attempted to even see if it holds up.