Driverless Cars.

[awa355]

Would you buy one?

I can see the dilemma in the states. Fat Albert has an accident, he sues the car manufacturer for taking away his ability to take total control of his new Q50. (cause he's smarter than the average driver and doesn't need the technology).

Fat Albert has an accident, he sues the car manufacturer for not giving him the latest technology to prevent accidents in his new Q50. (when it was avalible)
Yes I know, you can switch stuff on and off at will but Fat Albert has two bro-in-laws who are lawyers. :niceone:


http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11454393

[Ender EnZed]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY_zqEmKV1k

[MisterD]

Would you buy one?


Hell no, automatic gearboxes annoy me enough already.

[awa355]

[]

One advantage, you could be bonking the girlfriend in the back seat, :shit::shit: I wonder how the laws retaining to control of a vehicle would apply to this set up?

[Laava]

One advantage, you could be bonking the girlfriend in the back seat, :shit::shit: I wonder how the laws retaining to control of a vehicle would apply to this set up?
Would probably be cheaper and easier to make cars that can bonk your girlfriend in the back seat while you drive.
Happy wives, happy drives!

[Tazz]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_8nnhUCtcO8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[buggerit]

Would you buy one?

I can see the dilemma in the states. Fat Albert has an accident, he sues the car manufacturer for taking away his ability to take total control of his new Q50. (cause he's smarter than the average driver and doesn't need the technology).

Fat Albert has an accident, he sues the car manufacturer for not giving him the latest technology to prevent accidents in his new Q50. (when it was avalible)
Yes I know, you can switch stuff on and off at will but Fat Albert has two bro-in-laws who are lawyers. :niceone:


http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11454393

So would the cars part like the red sea if you were lane splitting:innocent:

[spanner spinner]

[QUOTE=awa355;1130866737]driverless cars Would you buy one?

The real question is would you ride a bike that had most of it's control done by computer? When the law is changed to let driverless cars onto the roads every government will jump on the technology and force it on the average driver as most ""average drivers" can't actually drive. A fleet of cars that reduce road congestion, reduce the road toll by 60 to 70% and reduce accidents which all save the government money and are paid for by the public will be lapped up by any government. My guess is that normal cars won't be banned they will just be priced off the road by higher and higher ACC and insurance costs, and the mythical average driver who just wants to be able to get to work, mall, supermarket etc and doesn't care about driving will buy their new car on cost and driverless cars will win. The only way that motorcycles would fit into a fleet of computer controlled cars would be if most of their control is done outside of the riders control, speed control, braking and following distance to start with. The big picture is the next generation of car buyers aren't interested in driving as they are more tied to their new smartphone and would rather be able to use their transport time to keep interacting with their social network rather than having to concentrate on driving. The second big push is the other end of the age group who have always had their own transport but are getting too old to keep their licence due to ill health failing eyesight etc, they have the money and would buy up self drive cars as they would allow them to keep their independence for a few more years.

the question is not if kiwibikers would buy a driverless car but would the general public as if they will the choice will be taken away for the people who say no.

[Gremlin]

Better public transport...

Guess what, people can continue not focussing on driving, keep using social networks etc. That technology has existed for years, just the implementation is lacking.

On the other hand, the roads would be a safer place, with the muppets hopefully first in line to pick up a car that drives better than they do...

[400sm]

When they get this technology on motorbikes and make it compulsory, it will vastly improve the skills of most KBers.

[EJK]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_8nnhUCtcO8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

See? The guy survived! Thus Volvos are safe!

[The Baron]

Do self drive cars have to stop for police?

Who do they give the ticket to?

How can they stay inside the lane if there is no lane?

Can you send the car home to pick up the wife?

If the car comes home with damage. Am I still in trouble with the wife?

So many questions so little time...

[george formby]

I love the idea of self driving cars. If I lived in a big city connected to big motorways it would be perfect. In NZ terms they would just be city vehicles..
Don't think the tech is anywhere near ready for our "highway" system, though. Having said that, is their a secret agenda to lower our speed limits to the point where an autonomous vehicle would be appropriate? Be bloody slow over the Mangamukas I bet.

Oh. I wonder what would need to be considered in getting one a WOF?

[Gremlin]

Do self drive cars have to stop for police?

Who do they give the ticket to?

How can they stay inside the lane if there is no lane?

Can you send the car home to pick up the wife?

If the car comes home with damage. Am I still in trouble with the wife?

So many questions so little time...
You missed the obvious... Can they drive in the rain yet?

[Banditbandit]

Do we need a licence to own one? Clearly we would not be "driving" so no licence would be necessary ..

I won't have one - I have got used to an auto gearbox - it's great for cruising with the music on ... but for serious driving a still like a manual gearbox ...

[awa355]

How could you possibly be done for D.I.C.?
Who picks where to park at the supermarket?. :weep::weep:

[Scuba_Steve]

Wouldn't own one & would happily become a "criminal" if the Govt decides all manual operation vehicles be illegal

[oldrider]

I thought statistics show that most NZ cars are driver less anyway - what's new? :scratch:

[george formby]

How could you possibly be done for D.I.C.?
Who picks where to park at the supermarket?. :weep::weep:


How would you stop right next to the constibule? Maybe they would have to walk briskly alongside while you state name and addy.

[spanner spinner]

How could you possibly be done for D.I.C.?
Who picks where to park at the supermarket?. :weep::weep:

who cares where the car parks as it could drop you off at the door and then be called back to pick you up with a swipe of your smartphone, supermarkets would quickly put in pick up drop off lanes to get one up on the competition. As for D.I.C. do you get charged for being drunk in the back of a taxi? If your cars driving not you it's no different to being a passenger in a taxi.

[jonbuoy]

A lot of people in the world commute in stop/start traffic for hours every day - they will be the first adopters - catch up on sleep/work or just goof around on the web and finish your breakfast while your car takes you to work. The stop start traffic would probably be more or less a thing of the past as your speed and route would be controlled to avoid build ups and bottle necks.

[swbarnett]

No, I will never own one and would be loath to even ride in one.

It's not that I think the technology is bad per se. What worries me is what happens when the sensors get dirty or just get old and don't function as well.

[Scuba_Steve]

It's not that I think the technology is bad per se. What worries me is what happens when the sensors get dirty or just get old and don't function as well.

They'll probably still perform better than when the human gets old & dirty

[swbarnett]

They'll probably still perform better than when the human gets old & dirty
That may well be true but how long will it take for this to happen? One good mud puddle may be enough to disable a visual sensor. Or worse, cause it to send incorrect data.

[jonbuoy]

That may well be true but how long will it take for this to happen? One good mud puddle may be enough to disable a visual sensor. Or worse, cause it to send incorrect data.

They will find a way around it. I suspect they will have self cleaning lenses multiple cameras/sensors - let's face it the average human can still drive through a dirty/fogged windscreen and that's without being able to use radar, ultrasound,infra red spectrum or the ability to use sensor data or information from other cars nearby. Being a classic car fan/motorcyclist I'm not keen on the idea but there is no way to stop the advance of technology.

[Gremlin]

That may well be true but how long will it take for this to happen? One good mud puddle may be enough to disable a visual sensor. Or worse, cause it to send incorrect data.
Driving on the weekend in the storms (I had to work and move computers around) I was gobsmacked at the amount of tailgating going on. Not just bad following distances, we're talking 2m following distance. Seriously, with lots of standing water etc!? :crazy:

So again... the humans aren't much better ;)

[swbarnett]

They will find a way around it.
One thing you can't find a way around is entropy (at least not in this universe). All it takes is one frayed wire or loose sensor to start sending dodgy data to the car's brain.

My point is that the more complicated these systems become the more scope there is for it to fail.


I'm not keen on the idea but there is no way to stop the advance of technology.
No, you can't. But you can influence the direction of that advance.


Driving on the weekend in the storms (I had to work and move computers around) I was gobsmacked at the amount of tailgating going on. Not just bad following distances, we're talking 2m following distance. Seriously, with lots of standing water etc!? :crazy:
Pretty normal day in Auckland then?


So again... the humans aren't much better ;)
Forgive me for being skeptical. In spite of appearances I honestly don't believe the average driver to be as bad as they're often made out to be.


One other thing that they will be plagued with is an abundance of firmware bugs. A computer is only as good as the person that programming it.


These self drive cars may crash less often but when they do the potential is there for those crashes to be far more catastrophic. Especially if we're talking about data corruption rather than complete failure. I can see one of these cars ploughing through a crowd of pedestrians (or group of bikers) because the sensor told the computer that the road was clear.

[jonbuoy]

One thing you can't find a way around is entropy (at least not in this universe). All it takes is one frayed wire or loose sensor to start sending dodgy data to the car's brain.

My point is that the more complicated these systems become the more scope there is for it to fail.


No, you can't. But you can influence the direction of that advance.


Pretty normal day in Auckland then?


Forgive me for being skeptical. In spite of appearances I honestly don't believe the average driver to be as bad as they're often made out to be.


One other thing that they will be plagued with is an abundance of firmware bugs. A computer is only as good as the person that programming it.


These self drive cars may crash less often but when they do the potential is there for those crashes to be far more catastrophic. Especially if we're talking about data corruption rather than complete failure. I can see one of these cars ploughing through a crowd of pedestrians (or group of bikers) because the sensor told the computer that the road was clear.

Same argument has been used against drive/fly by wire throttle systems, ABS, Traction Control, active power steering. Redundancy can take care of things in 99% of cases. At the moment around 3,000 people per day are killed in the roads in the US I doubt a well designed driverless car network using both roadside and in car sensors would have that many errors.

[swbarnett]

Same argument has been used against drive/fly by wire throttle systems, ABS, Traction Control, active power steering. Redundancy can take care of things in 99% of cases. At the moment around 3,000 people per day are killed in the roads in the US I doubt a well designed driverless car network using both roadside and in car sensors would have that many errors.
Yeah, it occurred to me this morning that everything I'm saying was said about the first "Horseless Carriage" when it was introduced. As long as I'm not forced to use one then I suppose, as others have said, the situation probably won't be any worse than it is now. Really I just don't want to see a time when you can't buy a car without it or at least the ability to turn it off.

[oldrider]

I really like the idea - as the threat of diminished capability getting ever closer it sounds really handy!

Instead of having to move house to some place I don't want to be because I can no longer drive - just get into the car and program it to take me where I want to go!

They have already got self parking capability now - not much of a step left to go completely programmable - no need to bother other people to drive some place!

IMHO - great - bring on the technology! :yes:

[jonbuoy]

Yeah, it occurred to me this morning that everything I'm saying was said about the first "Horseless Carriage" when it was introduced. As long as I'm not forced to use one then I suppose, as others have said, the situation probably won't be any worse than it is now. Really I just don't want to see a time when you can't buy a car without it or at least the ability to turn it off.

Yup I know what you mean - the pencil pushers will soon find a way to make it compulsory for our own good. As Old Rider says could be a god send for the elderly/disabled.

[awa355]

On the way apparently.

Self-driving cars in New Zealand's not-too-distant future

http://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/68950669/selfdriving-cars-in-new-zealands-nottoodistant-future

Mind you, this is a 'Stuff' report. :eek5: