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As a motorcyclist I am split about these things. I don't want to share the road, to put my life in the hands of robots. On the other hand these things will ma

As a motorcyclist I am split about these things. I don't want to share the road, to put my life in the hands of robots. On the other hand these things will make for great fun on a mountain highway such as, my favorite, BC's sea-to-sky between Vancouver and Whistler. What will it take to "brick" this car? An orange cone place in front? Would a piece of chewing gum stuck over a laser emitter require a trip back to the dealership? How close to the front bumper does one need to be to trigger automatic panic braking? Would pulling alongside the car at speed cause it to voluntarily pull over? These experiments will be fun, at least for those not-old not-rich people outside the car.

JshWright 12y ago
> As a motorcyclist I am split about these things. I don't want to share the road, to put my life in the hands of robots. The vast majority of car/motorcycle accidents are due to inattention on the part of one of the drivers. If the car is driven by a computer, it will be _far_ less likely to do something that would endanger you. Its 'vision' will be better, and its decisions more consistent (and conservative).
dougmccune 12y ago
If you're hell bent on wrecking havoc on people-movers on the road you could easily do the same experiments today with lightrail cars, buses that use electric power lines, etc etc. What would it take to stop or derail a lightrail car? 2x4s along the track? Placing orange cones in front? Getting sent to jail for putting people's lives at risk?
- galago 12y ago
  Where I live, driving involves a lot of inter-driver negotiation. As in, certain driving situations mean that a driver will cede legal right of way voluntarily because it would be a mess if they didn't. If I were pulling out in traffic in front of an automated car, I might behave differently or change lanes differently, because I know the automated system would try to prevent an accident. If I assume the driver doesn't care, because they're aren't driving there's a very different dynamic at work. Its similar to how I can be very "rude" to automated phone systems, and it can be jarring when an actual person comes back on the line.
  - ceejayoz 12y ago
    Maybe the self-driving cars will eventually file police reports with their sensor/camera data against reckless drivers.
dkersten 12y ago
I don't want to share the road, to put my life in the hands of robots. On the other hand, I don't want to share the road, to put my life in the hands of idiot drivers. I may have confidence in my own abilities, but who knows what some other driver I might meet is like - maybe they're a bad driver, maybe their drunk or over-tired, maybe their just wreckless. I'll be much happier when every car on the road is a robot and all of these issues largely go away.
ceejayoz 12y ago
> I don't want to share the road, to put my life in the hands of robots. Your current situation is putting life in the hands of idiots. I'll take the robots, hands down.
UrMomReadsHN 12y ago
>I don't want to share the road, to put my life in the hands of robots. What? This is an incredibly ignorant statement. Humans are terrible drivers. A robot doesn't get tired, drunk, spaced out, inattentive, distracted, or perform dangerous maneuvers or fall asleep at the wheel. They are able to accurately assess the safest way to drive, humans are terrible at that and incredibly bad at assessing risk. Robots don't have blindspots or loss of vision at night. Robots have quicker reflexes and a wider field of view. Robots don't get road rage. Robots dont get senile. Robots know the rules of the road. You need little more than a pulse to get a drivers license. I'm shocked how often licensed drivers get confused by 4 way stops. Honestly, its terrifying to put my life in the hands of humans. Myself included, because everyone can make a mistake from time to time.
- smacktoward 12y ago
  Agreed, but robots aren't perfect just by virtue of being robots. They are only as good as the systems design and programming that goes into them. Given the quality of programming that goes into lots of other "smart" devices these days, I'm not sure having a robot drive is all that much less scary than having me do it.
- sandworm 12y ago
  Ignorant? I think not. I do not want to trust a mechanical system to see me, identify me, and stop a vehicle doing 100+ kph in time not to kill me. The car in the OP is not one that supplements a driver's vision and reaction time. It is a system that totally replaces it. Would anyone here be willing to stand on a road with their backs to an oncoming car without human supervision? Thousands of times. In all weather conditions. When the car's systems are 5/10/25 years out of date? That's what motorcyclists must do at every red light: trust that the car approaching behind them stops in time. Pedestrians at crosswalks have the advantage of signing, lights and cross-streets to alert the system to the possible presence of humans. Motorcyclists must stand in random places unprotected (ie stop and go traffic).
  - UrMomReadsHN 12y ago
    >Would anyone here be willing to stand on a road with their backs to an oncoming car without human supervision? Once the cars have been rigorously tested, yes!! I'd much prefer that to a drunk guy swatting at his kids in the back seat while chatting on the phone. (If you don't think that scenario that happens regularly, you are mistaken)

JshWright 12y ago

> As a motorcyclist I am split about these things. I don't want to share the road, to put my life in the hands of robots. The vast majority of car/motorcycle accidents are due to inattention on the part of one of the drivers. If the car is driven by a computer, it will be _far_ less likely to do something that would endanger you. Its 'vision' will be better, and its decisions more consistent (and conservative).

dougmccune 12y ago

If you're hell bent on wrecking havoc on people-movers on the road you could easily do the same experiments today with lightrail cars, buses that use electric power lines, etc etc. What would it take to stop or derail a lightrail car? 2x4s along the track? Placing orange cones in front? Getting sent to jail for putting people's lives at risk?

galago 12y ago
Where I live, driving involves a lot of inter-driver negotiation. As in, certain driving situations mean that a driver will cede legal right of way voluntarily because it would be a mess if they didn't. If I were pulling out in traffic in front of an automated car, I might behave differently or change lanes differently, because I know the automated system would try to prevent an accident. If I assume the driver doesn't care, because they're aren't driving there's a very different dynamic at work. Its similar to how I can be very "rude" to automated phone systems, and it can be jarring when an actual person comes back on the line.
- ceejayoz 12y ago
  Maybe the self-driving cars will eventually file police reports with their sensor/camera data against reckless drivers.

dkersten 12y ago

I don't want to share the road, to put my life in the hands of robots. On the other hand, I don't want to share the road, to put my life in the hands of idiot drivers. I may have confidence in my own abilities, but who knows what some other driver I might meet is like - maybe they're a bad driver, maybe their drunk or over-tired, maybe their just wreckless. I'll be much happier when every car on the road is a robot and all of these issues largely go away.

ceejayoz 12y ago

> I don't want to share the road, to put my life in the hands of robots. Your current situation is putting life in the hands of idiots. I'll take the robots, hands down.

UrMomReadsHN 12y ago

>I don't want to share the road, to put my life in the hands of robots. What? This is an incredibly ignorant statement. Humans are terrible drivers. A robot doesn't get tired, drunk, spaced out, inattentive, distracted, or perform dangerous maneuvers or fall asleep at the wheel. They are able to accurately assess the safest way to drive, humans are terrible at that and incredibly bad at assessing risk. Robots don't have blindspots or loss of vision at night. Robots have quicker reflexes and a wider field of view. Robots don't get road rage. Robots dont get senile. Robots know the rules of the road. You need little more than a pulse to get a drivers license. I'm shocked how often licensed drivers get confused by 4 way stops. Honestly, its terrifying to put my life in the hands of humans. Myself included, because everyone can make a mistake from time to time.

smacktoward 12y ago
Agreed, but robots aren't perfect just by virtue of being robots. They are only as good as the systems design and programming that goes into them. Given the quality of programming that goes into lots of other "smart" devices these days, I'm not sure having a robot drive is all that much less scary than having me do it.
sandworm 12y ago
Ignorant? I think not. I do not want to trust a mechanical system to see me, identify me, and stop a vehicle doing 100+ kph in time not to kill me. The car in the OP is not one that supplements a driver's vision and reaction time. It is a system that totally replaces it. Would anyone here be willing to stand on a road with their backs to an oncoming car without human supervision? Thousands of times. In all weather conditions. When the car's systems are 5/10/25 years out of date? That's what motorcyclists must do at every red light: trust that the car approaching behind them stops in time. Pedestrians at crosswalks have the advantage of signing, lights and cross-streets to alert the system to the possible presence of humans. Motorcyclists must stand in random places unprotected (ie stop and go traffic).
- UrMomReadsHN 12y ago
  >Would anyone here be willing to stand on a road with their backs to an oncoming car without human supervision? Once the cars have been rigorously tested, yes!! I'd much prefer that to a drunk guy swatting at his kids in the back seat while chatting on the phone. (If you don't think that scenario that happens regularly, you are mistaken)