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> Once all the meatspace human drivers are off the grid, you can remove traffic lights. As a driver, I've silently tolerated horse-drawn carriages, pedestrians
by logn 12y ago
> Once all the meatspace human drivers are off the grid, you can remove traffic lights.
As a driver, I've silently tolerated horse-drawn carriages, pedestrians, cyclists, motorbikes, tractors, etc on the roads. And I expect autonomous cars to extend the same courtesy to us drivers. If there's a situation where autonomous cars are incompatible with human drivers, then that situation will have been deliberately created. Human drivers have paid the taxes that built the roadways, in part directly through gasoline taxes, and it would be unfair for large corporations to re-appropriate public infrastructure to further their profits.
- lucian1900 12y agoThe passengers of both types of cars are the same, the only difference is that one doesn't have a subset of passengers also drive.
- snlacks 12y agoAutonomous cars will only really see true potential when they don't need a driver at all... or one in the car. Think one driver, jumping in on 5 or 10 UPS delivery vehicles as they park and launch delivery drones locally, or 20 Google maps vehicles with one remote driver jumping in at roundabouts. While 3 city buses with capacity for 5 or 10 more people each since there's no physical cockpit is promising or not having to pay attention, the true potential is all the things you don't need people for. The true potential in Autonomous vehicle removes the cost of having people involved with delivery, exploration, etc. Once the tech is there, you can remove the excess weight and volume of seating, safety mechanisms (mirrors, belts, roll bars, airbags...). Removing human ergonomics will also allow for more efficient designs per purpose.