5 ms·

> Sure sounds like the Ford was following the observer car, probably pretty closely for the given speed. Having reflectors on the stationary car isn't useful wh

> Sure sounds like the Ford was following the observer car, probably pretty closely for the given speed. Having reflectors on the stationary car isn't useful when the stationary car is completely obscured by the observer car. If the observer car missed it by only a couple of seconds, there was probably only five seconds or so for the Ford driver to see it, realize what was happening, and properly respond. Sounds like the Ford wasn't maintaining a safe following distance.

vel0city 3y ago
I agree. Maybe these driving aids should force better following distances and max speeds when its dark outside, especially if it ultimately relies on human vision to properly detect and react to a stopped object. I'd still say a human would probably have also had an unsafe following distance and speed in this scenario.
- BobaFloutist 3y ago
  A human would have likely driven unsafely too, but human behaviors don't scale as predictably, so I think it's appropriate to hold them to a lower bar. If a self driving car (or driving aid at least) behaves unsafely in some consistent way, that could cause far more accidents than the "typical human driver" typically behaving in that unsafe way. It's frankly outrageous to me that it's literally possible for automated or assisted driving to fail such a common-sense, basic rule of road safety as following distance. And that's my real concern with self-driving cars (apart from considering them a competitor to the public transit I'd rather see), that it doesn't feel like there's a sufficient baseline level of caution for their bread-and-butter behaviors.
kwhitefoot 3y ago
At 80 mph there should be about 100 m distance between vehicles to maintain the recommended 3 seconds separation. 80 mph is 36 m/s. I drive with traffic aware cruise control always on maximum separation (Tesla S), but hardly anyone else abides by the recommendation. Even 1 second separation is 7 car lengths at that speed.

vel0city 3y ago

I agree. Maybe these driving aids should force better following distances and max speeds when its dark outside, especially if it ultimately relies on human vision to properly detect and react to a stopped object. I'd still say a human would probably have also had an unsafe following distance and speed in this scenario.

BobaFloutist 3y ago
A human would have likely driven unsafely too, but human behaviors don't scale as predictably, so I think it's appropriate to hold them to a lower bar. If a self driving car (or driving aid at least) behaves unsafely in some consistent way, that could cause far more accidents than the "typical human driver" typically behaving in that unsafe way. It's frankly outrageous to me that it's literally possible for automated or assisted driving to fail such a common-sense, basic rule of road safety as following distance. And that's my real concern with self-driving cars (apart from considering them a competitor to the public transit I'd rather see), that it doesn't feel like there's a sufficient baseline level of caution for their bread-and-butter behaviors.

kwhitefoot 3y ago

At 80 mph there should be about 100 m distance between vehicles to maintain the recommended 3 seconds separation. 80 mph is 36 m/s. I drive with traffic aware cruise control always on maximum separation (Tesla S), but hardly anyone else abides by the recommendation. Even 1 second separation is 7 car lengths at that speed.