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British Columbia has banned self-driving vehicles that exceed Level 2
- jaclaz 3y agoWell, I must post this (stronger than me): https://www.marriedtothesea.com/122607/pulled-over-in-canada.gif https://www.marriedtothesea.com/122607/pulled-over-in-canada...
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- neom 3y agoToronto expressly bans robots on it's sidewalks (granted, pending further review): https://cities-today.com/toronto-city-council-votes-to-ban-pavement-robots/ https://cities-today.com/toronto-city-council-votes-to-ban-p... Canada can be a hostile place for technology companies. I was involved in the robot delivery company in Toronto, the founder was so angry at Toronto he said F you Canada, picked up and moved the company to the states. Le sigh.
- KomoD 3y ago> Toronto expressly bans robots on it's sidewalks That's a good thing, they are just in the way (especially for people with disabilities). Sidewalks are for pedestrians, not robots.
- bluefirebrand 3y agoYeah this won't be popular with the "tech above all, progress at all costs" crowd, but I don't see how having unlicenced, unregulated, and unpredictable robots navigating sidewalks is a good thing
- thehappypm 3y agoBanning is an overreaction though
- smcl 3y agoCanada can also be a very friendly place for technology companies - see all the games dev studios that popped up in Montreal
- ska 3y agoFor example these tax credits : https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/scientific-research-experimental-development-tax-incentive-program.html https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/scientific-... are amazing.
- blackeyeblitzar 3y agoI’m not familiar with Canadian regulations but isn’t there a debate right now about capital gains tax and its effects on venture capital and startups?
- ska 3y agoThe thing I linked to is corporate tax credits, fwiw.
- pesfandiar 3y agoNot all tech companies are the same. Perhaps Canada is hostile to tech bros looking to socialize harms and risks and privatize profits.
- smcl 3y agoThat’s no bad thing in my book
- sircastor 3y agoIt's worth noting that the ban is intended to be temporary. They want some more time to consider what the effects are [1] I get the idea, but I think it ends up being a bit ham-fisted. There's a compromise path that works for everyone. The company I work for has hired a number of Canadians. There is a fair population of robotics companies and roboticists right around Toronto. [1] https://www.therobotreport.com/toronto-city-council-votes-to-ban-sidewalk-robots/ https://www.therobotreport.com/toronto-city-council-votes-to...
- jessriedel 3y agoDoes anyone really think bills to ban something, even if temporary, are motivated by an honest desire for more time to "consider the effects" of something? Who is sitting around and doing this pondering? Does anyone's mind ever change? It seems to me people have made a decision, and then if they can't gather the majority for a permanent ban they compromise on a temporary one.
- ska 3y agoSometimes, definitely. Other times it’s obstructionist.
- icegreentea2 3y agoI can't speak to the general case, but in this specific case, the city has decided to basically punt and wait for the province's plan. Is the province being slow? Maybe. https://www.ontariocanada.com/registry/view.do?postingId=39087&language=en https://www.ontariocanada.com/registry/view.do?postingId=390...
- jessriedel 3y agoNot sure I understand. You’re raising a case in ON, distinct from the OP article discussing BC, right? Regardless, there are surely cases where one governing body delays a decision until action is taken by another governing body, or until a study is finished, or whatever. I’m talking about the claim that the delay is to give time for the issue to be “considered”.
- afavour 3y agoI can absolutely understand it being frustrating when you work in the industry but I can see a ton of very valid concerns when it comes to robots on sidewalks. There are already a lot of accessibility concerns with these scooter companies that let people leave scooters wherever (blocking access for wheelchair or otherwise disabled folks), seems valid to me that you’d want to make sure those robots do not hinder other kinds of sidewalk transit.
- dylan604 3y agoI would trust a robot to be less obstructionist than randomly placed scooters by inconsiderate humans
- coryrc 3y agoMeasure the width from one building, across the street, to the other. The vast majority of the space is taken up by land reserved for cars. Scooters are not the problem. The fact that cars are allowed sole domain of the vast majority of public spaces is.
- afavour 3y agoYou’ll hear no disagreement from me on that but I don’t see us anywhere near reimagining how we allocate road space. So absent some unexpected and dramatic shift, scooters/robots/whatever are still able to cause obstructions.
- basil-rash 3y agoThe answer is 100% not to allow more 4 wheeled vehicles to take over the small amount of space the two/four legged individuals have left. I have 80% a mind to push every food carrying robot into the street where they belong when I see them coming by on a sidewalk making everyone leap out of the way to avoid their drunken careening.
- blackeyeblitzar 3y agoYes but the cars’ use is sanctioned and by design, while scooters are taking up space meant for pedestrians and bikes. That can be reallocated but when it happens without any discussion or update to laws, it can upset people. But the difficulty is that a small startup can’t afford to fight political or legal battles, so it’s easier for them to just break some rules. Is that a good thing? Maybe.
- kbar13 3y agosure that's one way of putting it. but the robots definitely get in the way of people, there's turmoil in SF because of robotaxis, and robotaxis have caused severe injuries. so - with that being the risk i would be ok with being a bit slow to the market to ensure that tech is in a better state. like, you getting access to gmail beta as soon as it came out is a much different risk surface than a 4 ton metal thing going fast on the roads
- jejeyyy77 3y agolol, sounds like a good thing to me
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- blackeyeblitzar 3y agoAren’t these vehicles statistically safer than human driven cars?
- MissTake 3y agoAs the article states, there are very very few Level 3 or above vehicles out there, so the jury is still out on them.
- ttul 3y agoWhat you have to understand about B.C. is that the winning political party has to appease the voters in a few concentrated ridings where a large number of people earn a living in the personal transportation business, driving taxis and Ubers. This block of voters kept ride sharing services out for 10 years; I am not surprised at all that driverless cars have been banned - purportedly for safety reasons - because driverless cars will eventually eliminate the jobs of thousands of drivers. It’s also an election year here, so we all expect some crazy announcements to appease various groups before Election Day. After that, anything goes, depending on who wins.
- ska 3y ago> because driverless cars will eventually eliminate the jobs of thousands of drivers. This isn’t really plausible in a time frame usually relevant to electoral politics. Safety issues are real today. You can argue the risks aren’t too elevated, but you can also do the political calculus …
- ttul 3y agoIt’s plausible in the minds of the taxi drivers, and that’s all that matters for getting reelected in the fall.
- ska 3y agoIs it though? I've asked a few uber/taxi drivers and they all have sort of laughed at the idea. Not a scientific sample of course. And there are clearly politics being played on all sides of the issue.
- ausbah 3y ago> because driverless cars will eventually eliminate the jobs of thousands of drivers can you really blame ppl then? especially when the best answer given by tech advocates is just “you’ll eventually find another job as industries shift but only after we’ve made a fortune automating you’re livelihood”
- tharmas 3y ago
- wg0 3y agoThank you. Humans over machines. Safety over hype.
- philwelch 3y agoYou’d think the Canadian political establishment would embrace self-driving vehicles given their history of conflict with truck drivers.
- dr_kretyn 3y agoJust as Waymo opened up an office in Vancouver? Great timing.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]