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I never said that they weren’t/wouldn’t be. But that wasn’t the point I was responding to. The point I was responding to was that we need to address 40,000 tra

I never said that they weren’t/wouldn’t be. But that wasn’t the point I was responding to. The point I was responding to was that we need to address 40,000 traffic deaths per year, to which I said it doesn’t seem to be the most direct route there. Just because self driving cars are safer in some situations doesn’t mean that we will inevitably have that result within a reasonable timeframe and level of investment. Besides the types of things that reduce human caused accidents would lead to benefits for self driving cars: slower speeds, fewer conflicts, etc.

greiskul 3y ago
> a reasonable timeframe and level of investment Compared to the time-frame and investments on which alternatives? It might take 40 years for self driving cars to improve and have enough deployments to significantly reduce the number of accidents, but at least there is a path there and it will happen at some point. Getting americans to use public transit, requires not only investment in public transit: it requires a cultural shift in how Americans view life. A cheaper solution that can never be delivered is not a good solution, it's just a dream.
- comte7092 3y ago
  Death rates have already been trending downward for decades[0] There are a whole host of technologies that exist and have been invented to improve safety, that fall short of full self driving. From vehicle design, to improved road designs, and changes is laws (drunk driving being a major example). Self driving advocates treat it like the messiah that must save us, but there is plenty that can be done to continue to make improvements. > Getting americans to use public transit, requires not only investment in public transit: it requires a cultural shift in how Americans view life. I can see why you would have that opinion, but it is an opinion, not a factual statement. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_traffic_deaths_per_VMT,_VMT,_per_capita,_and_total_annual_deaths.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_traffic_deaths_per_VMT...
  - Mawr 3y ago
    That's the wrong graph to look at. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/27/us/pedestrian-deaths-2022.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/27/us/pedestrian-deaths-2022... https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/27/upshot/road-deaths-pedestrians-cyclists.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/27/upshot/road-deaths-pedest... Now compare with the Netherlands: https://youtu.be/5aNtsWvNYKE?t=36 https://youtu.be/5aNtsWvNYKE?t=36
    - comte7092 3y ago
      While I agree with the thrust of your statement, the point I was making with the graph was that we have been making driving safer over the last several decades. Self driving isn’t some panacea that we must hold our breath for to make improvements.

greiskul 3y ago

> a reasonable timeframe and level of investment Compared to the time-frame and investments on which alternatives? It might take 40 years for self driving cars to improve and have enough deployments to significantly reduce the number of accidents, but at least there is a path there and it will happen at some point. Getting americans to use public transit, requires not only investment in public transit: it requires a cultural shift in how Americans view life. A cheaper solution that can never be delivered is not a good solution, it's just a dream.

comte7092 3y ago
Death rates have already been trending downward for decades[0] There are a whole host of technologies that exist and have been invented to improve safety, that fall short of full self driving. From vehicle design, to improved road designs, and changes is laws (drunk driving being a major example). Self driving advocates treat it like the messiah that must save us, but there is plenty that can be done to continue to make improvements. > Getting americans to use public transit, requires not only investment in public transit: it requires a cultural shift in how Americans view life. I can see why you would have that opinion, but it is an opinion, not a factual statement. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_traffic_deaths_per_VMT,_VMT,_per_capita,_and_total_annual_deaths.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_traffic_deaths_per_VMT...
- Mawr 3y ago
  That's the wrong graph to look at. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/27/us/pedestrian-deaths-2022.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/27/us/pedestrian-deaths-2022... https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/27/upshot/road-deaths-pedestrians-cyclists.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/27/upshot/road-deaths-pedest... Now compare with the Netherlands: https://youtu.be/5aNtsWvNYKE?t=36 https://youtu.be/5aNtsWvNYKE?t=36
  - comte7092 3y ago
    While I agree with the thrust of your statement, the point I was making with the graph was that we have been making driving safer over the last several decades. Self driving isn’t some panacea that we must hold our breath for to make improvements.